Yet another of the supposedly revolutionary developments promised by tech companies is being abandoned.
Amazon said the days of human cashiers were numbered. Now it’s pulling its “just walk out” automated systems from existing stores.
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/amazons-grocery-stores-to-drop-just-walk-out-checkout-tech
@parismarx I feel bad for the people who were getting free groceries.
@parismarx there’s already a good “tech” for this, it’s called “self-checkout” and works great. No need for apps, cameras and AI.
@can @parismarx Narrator: "It doesn't work so great."
Also, "Commentators have noted that the introduction of self-checkouts has enabled retailers to reduce in-store staffing levels, leading to lower levels of employment in the retail sector and poorer in-store maintenance."
@haljor @parismarx at least in Germany and Switzerland it seems to work well
There’s an amazon fresh near me, easy walking distance and I have never been inside. I don’t like the no-workers vibe AND it seems really classist that one must have a smart phone to shop there. You cannot go in with a buck and buy a drink.
@Tengrain @parismarx
Backrooms Level 232 ... 
@parismarx Initially read as "human cashews" & that went some interesting places. (E.g. that cashews when harvested are covered with outrageously irritating sap, & seeking to apply that as some kind of a metaphor, before realizing I was just reading it wrong.)
@parismarx Shockingly, the 'please just trust us to bill you correctly' technology didn't work out.
