VaughanJB
Scrappy VIP
SOURCE: Amazon trials humanoid robots to 'free up' staff
I saw this yesterday and my first reaction was sarcasm. But let me explain why.
Firstly, robots on the work force are already a thing, think of how cars are made these days, it's lots of robots doing someones job. The only difference to this example is that they're not "humanoid". They don't look remotely like a human doing the same job. Robots are also coming into surgery in hospitals, which allow surgeons to do their work remotely. This all makes sense because robots have a couple advantages over humans - they do the job the same way every time. There are no mistakes from a hangover the night before, or because you've been up all night caring for your child. Robots/machines just do the work time and time again. The second is cost related.
Amazon have made two announcements over the last couple of weeks. This was the second. The other was announcing they were going to start drone-based deliveries in the UK some time soon. This will allow them to move their inventory far quicker, delivery times will be cut, and you don't have to pay for big vans to move in traffic. It's your classic cost/efficiency scenario.
I think this stuff is inevitable as tech advances. We're only in the early days with robot tech when it comes down to it, but over time there will be an inevitable move to increasingly using them. They don't go sick, they don't get pregnant, they don't need health insurance, and so on. I don't think this can or will be stopped.
But here's my issue with this announcement - the press statement. It was incredibly inept and included this classic: "Amazon said the move was about "freeing employees up to better deliver for our customers"." Now, I'm not anti robots, but could they have been more dishonest? Could they have been more out of tune with their work force? Who among us would fall for this nonsense? No, Amazon, you're doing it in order to usher in the gradual change from human beings doing the work, to robots replacing them. This is about cutting staff members, not freeing employees to offer better service.
I don't know if they said that in an effort to try and deflect from what they're clearly doing. I don't know if they're hoping people will buy it. But it's a reasonably interesting story spoiled by an incredibly inept and disingenuous company struggling to tell the truth.
A robot revolution is on its way, it truly is. The tech has gotten good enough to make it feasible for jobs like this. The engineering is fantastic. But a lot of jobs are going to be impacted as business restructures itself to the new dynamic. I just wish they could show just a little compassion.
I saw this yesterday and my first reaction was sarcasm. But let me explain why.
Firstly, robots on the work force are already a thing, think of how cars are made these days, it's lots of robots doing someones job. The only difference to this example is that they're not "humanoid". They don't look remotely like a human doing the same job. Robots are also coming into surgery in hospitals, which allow surgeons to do their work remotely. This all makes sense because robots have a couple advantages over humans - they do the job the same way every time. There are no mistakes from a hangover the night before, or because you've been up all night caring for your child. Robots/machines just do the work time and time again. The second is cost related.
Amazon have made two announcements over the last couple of weeks. This was the second. The other was announcing they were going to start drone-based deliveries in the UK some time soon. This will allow them to move their inventory far quicker, delivery times will be cut, and you don't have to pay for big vans to move in traffic. It's your classic cost/efficiency scenario.
I think this stuff is inevitable as tech advances. We're only in the early days with robot tech when it comes down to it, but over time there will be an inevitable move to increasingly using them. They don't go sick, they don't get pregnant, they don't need health insurance, and so on. I don't think this can or will be stopped.
But here's my issue with this announcement - the press statement. It was incredibly inept and included this classic: "Amazon said the move was about "freeing employees up to better deliver for our customers"." Now, I'm not anti robots, but could they have been more dishonest? Could they have been more out of tune with their work force? Who among us would fall for this nonsense? No, Amazon, you're doing it in order to usher in the gradual change from human beings doing the work, to robots replacing them. This is about cutting staff members, not freeing employees to offer better service.
I don't know if they said that in an effort to try and deflect from what they're clearly doing. I don't know if they're hoping people will buy it. But it's a reasonably interesting story spoiled by an incredibly inept and disingenuous company struggling to tell the truth.
A robot revolution is on its way, it truly is. The tech has gotten good enough to make it feasible for jobs like this. The engineering is fantastic. But a lot of jobs are going to be impacted as business restructures itself to the new dynamic. I just wish they could show just a little compassion.
