So it begins: Walmart to replace stock-checker workers with robots

Robots are replacing humans more and more: Walmart is rolling out robots to replace stock-checker workers. Walmart says they are freeing up their workers to provide better customer service....but a skeptic would say that Walmart is going to be firing workers and replacing them with robots, so the billionaire owners can add to their billions. "The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer!" http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2018/03/20/walmart-launches-autonomous-scanning-robots/

Me, I think it's unfortunate that most all stock-checkers will lose their jobs eventually (in many many stores), but it will make the owners more money, so that's a good thing overall. I want the gov't to stay out of this - as we speak socialists are scheming of ways to limit this progress.

The solution is not to curb the tech, but rather to just not pursue a career in store stock-checking - instead, get into robotics! Just like the buggy-whip manufacturing worker would have been wise to get a job with Henry Ford's company. Those who don't want society to improve are the same type of people that approve of Jesus in Revelation forbidding people to improve on his religion's texts.....they are afraid of progress (like religions, those type of people hold back society.)

Your opinion?

 

Problem is that eventually they make robots to make the robots which can make everything else. Wealth will become concentrated to such a degree that either there will be revolution or the wealthy will have to completely fund a government that will keep the general population supplied with food and clothing and shelter.

Could work if people don't need to work in order to survive or if they can buy robots which they lease out as surrogate workers.
But given the rate of tech advancement, that should be at least 60 - 80 ... minutes away, so nothing to worry about.

OK, so I'm kidding on the timeline, but I do see it as a possible future.

 

Ha! Those bots will take at least two generations for people to die out to finally utilize them 100%,, and by then the bots will have gotten rid of the problem in the first place,,humans....I'm running of into the mountains to survive...Enjoy...

 

I hope they do, and I hope there made in China!
America sold out years ago to greed, why is this any different?

 

You sound like you have a Venezuelan mind-set.....that didn't work out too well for them in the end:

 

yea right.......Never even have bought a Jap car.....Try to keep up.....Next to impossible to buy American, and Trump isnt doing squat!.....I still can buy jeans and shirts, but you right wingers sold america for greed! And Wally world listened!

 

I wonder when Trump will put a "robot tax" (or shall we call it tariff) on Walmart, to protect the same types of jobs from being cut by other companies? Oh, wait, that kind of argument only works for steel workers competing with China. When it comes to American workers competing with automation, laissez-faire capitalism is the name of the game.

 

I always wanted to be a stock checker. Lefties hate Walmart.

 

Time to enact a Robot Labor Replacement Tax to help fund SS, Medicare, and Medicaid.

 

That's because they are not smart enough to out-compete Walmart.

 

OP, didn't vote.

It is a free world, if legal people can do as they like.

Still, we all have to go outside once in a while and face the world we have built.

 

It's their own damn fault, for insisting on starvation wages, instead of being happy with third world wages. MAGA

 

Prove it...I know a lot of people that own Walmart stock..

 

Great...I hope they eventually replace all menial working positions. I have used self-service check outs for many years at various stores...they should be in all major chains by now. They are faster, simpler and undoubtedly save the customers some money.


This age old argument/fear about automation causing mass unemployment has been going on since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. And it means the same now as it did then...nothing.

Hello people? Way back then people were saying machines would replace humans and cause mass unemployment. Well, it's been over 100 years since then and what is the unemployment rate today?

4.1%

Case closed.

Good day.

 

Automation is an interesting... even concerning problem
Unfortunately it is also an inexorable problem with few simple solutions
We are now at just the initial stages. A stage where it might still make sense to still choose human workers over robots. But we know that automation will continuously improve. Likely the rate of improvement will accelerate. Therefore, over time, it is inevitable that human workers will be replaced for a variety of jobs.

One of the largest automation trends will be truck drivers. We are just starting to see self driving trucks. That technology will continue to improve, and gradually displace the huge number of workers currently driving trucks. Not only will automation displace these workers, automation will do a BETTER job. Self driving trucks will be much safer and more efficient on the road. Truck drivers will gradually go the way of telephone switchboard operators, ditch diggers, secretarys and file clerks.

I don’t know what this new world will look like, but it is going to happen regardless of government or corporate policy. IMO our efforts are best directed towards figuring out how to adapt to changes

one Problem in that adaptation is that our tax system I should currently based on worker income. When worker income disappears, so do corresponding income taxes. And we all have seen corporate taxes are also continually reduced

What will we do? What should we do? Shrug

 

Tech is going to take away most manual labor jobs. It's just the way it always has been, and will always be.

 

ARDY is correct to point out the tax problems that will arise as tech makes jobs redundant.

 

The profits of the robot companies will more than offset the lost wages of the (low-paid, usually) lost workers, so relax.

 

Fascinating technology. And doing a job that, by and large, the very few Walmart employees tasked with stock checking as part of their job don't really care for - scanning shelves a couple of time per week. These robots likely won't result in layoffs but it is possible they may not have to hire a person or two in the future. I read some updated articles on this project, if the reports are correct, these devices are accurate and timely in their counts and observations, and the employees don't mind the at all. I do believe Walmart can justify these things easily, without firing anybody. We'll see....

 

maybe you should demand $20/hour next time and speed the replacement of workers......

Demanding $15/hour didnt start the conversion fast enough.

 

And the good news is that they can't hire illegal/undocumented robots that will rape/murder us!




PS uh, unless the robots are from Mexico, of course.

 

Can't scanners just be built into the shelves themselves, instead of having a mobile robot have to do that?? Cheaper and real-time??? Smart-shelves could replace dumb-workers.

 

Will taxpayers still have to subsidize the Walton family? Or will this be the end of US taxpayers making up the difference the Walton family refuses to pay employees?

 

As long as the businesses pay the necessary redundant labor taxes, yes.