Technological Advancement and Our Desire to Replace Ourselves
How Technology in the Workplace Will Lead to a Rise in Unemployment
In the wake of Amazon opening a new Amazon Go store in Seattle a few years back, I took the chance to raise awareness of a phenomenon that I had watched happen all over the city that I live in. It may seem to be the first in a wave of innovative technology that could change the way we shop.
A store without checkout lines may seem only to be a positive thing. However, if you are mindful of the occasions where machines replace people, this has resulted time and time again in the loss of income, jobs, and shops. There are many examples, both locally and nationwide. For instance, with the rise of Redbox locations and Netflix came the decrease in local video rental stores and the local jobs alongside them. Gone are the days of Movie Warehouse and Blockbuster in the local shopping centers. The slow rise in self checkout lines at your local Walmart and fast food restaurants have become the first fruits of local job loss among retail salespersons, fast food/counter workers, and cashiers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, these three occupations are the most common jobs in the United States, providing well over 11 million people with a steady paycheck.
Photo from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Whole Foods, which is Amazon owned, recently implemented the same strategy as Amazon Go. Since the opening of Amazon Go, Kroger has added a wall of scanners that you can carry around the store. You can scan items yourself as you shop with no need for a checkout person at all. So it will go with the rise in self driving cars.
Add all this to the recent effects of the Corona Virus then multiply it by Corporate need for growth in profit margins and you will get increasing unemployment rates. This is not an anti-corporations or anti-capitalism idea. It makes perfect business sense to have no employees to pay, to give benefits to, or to have to deal with. However, it only makes sense when your objective is seen through the lens of short term growth.
Every use of technology like self checkout is a vote for workers to be replaced.
If we as consumers continue to use this technology, we will indeed replace ourselves or other people in need of a paycheck. With all the talk of “job growth” it is time to also look and see instances where, because of our technology and need for quick and easy consumerism, job loss may be taking place. It is also time to be mindful about if or when we each are complicit in it.
