Let's hope your job becomes automated just to see how you react then.
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Say goodbye to cashiers in 2,500 U.S. McDonalds by the end of 2017.
- Thread starter KSweeley
- Start date
Let's hope your job becomes automated just to see how you react then.
TwiztidElf
Member
Isn't it a kind of self fulfilling prophecy though? The snake eating its own tail?
Who's going to buy their goods and services if no-one has a job and has any money?
Back on topic though, the germaphobe in me can't even mentally deal with eating food after I've touched a touchscreen covered in other peoples fingerprints. Ugh. It makes me feel nauseous thinking about it.
I've already gone into a self serve McDonalds and left empty handed for this very reason.
Who's going to buy their goods and services if no-one has a job and has any money?
Back on topic though, the germaphobe in me can't even mentally deal with eating food after I've touched a touchscreen covered in other peoples fingerprints. Ugh. It makes me feel nauseous thinking about it.
I've already gone into a self serve McDonalds and left empty handed for this very reason.
milanbaros
Member?
If I was as much a germaphobe as you I would at the very least carry around alcohol gel or wipes...
Auto-Reply
Member
I rarely ever go to McDonalds theses days... it happens a couple of times per year. When this happens where I live I can definitely say that I will never ever go to a McDonalds again (That's not even a bad thing considering what the food is made of so "Yeah", I guesss)
chromatic9
Member
Put burger in microwave, take burger out of microwave. Shouldn't be too hard.
We could even get perfect fries every time.
IrishNinja
Member
Theonik
Member
I've been thinking about this and ultimately it can only go two ways, socialism in some form, or a return to feudalism.
Ultimately, when the people who hold the resources stop needing labour they will also stop needing to extract it.
If it were up to some of them they'd just move their money elsewhere and let the poor people die while they found better ways to make money.
PHOENIXZERO
Member
This is being worked on and tested as we type.
DiscoShark
Banned
I work circulation in a library. I interact with and encourage the use of the technologies that will ultimately end up replacing me every single day, from self checkout services to the digital catalog. Instead of bemoaning the loss of positions that no longer need to exist I use the time I have now to simultaneously train myself in different fields (currently going to school at the same time) or try to position myself in areas of the library that are less likely to be immediately replaced (program running would be the next step).
Automation is going to happen regardless of whether or not we're ready for it or happy about it, instead of fearing the endless march of technological progress your best bet is to do your best to adapt to it.
thepenguin55
Member
This is all going to get so much muddier when they start putting AI in the machines that make the burgers
How muddy did it get when Wendy's replaced burger flippers with the machine that cooks the parties automatically... like 10 years ago?
To those that feel their positions or their education will help them survive the transition to automation: you are not seeing the big picture.
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for meand there was no one left to speak for me.
Automation will eventually come for all of us. Unless a system is put in place now by the population, a system will be enforced by those that are able to retain their prosperity and wealth.
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for meand there was no one left to speak for me.
Automation will eventually come for all of us. Unless a system is put in place now by the population, a system will be enforced by those that are able to retain their prosperity and wealth.
Count Dookkake
Member
The end game of automation is the Monkey's Paw granting a wish to end poverty.
GiantEnemyGoomba
Member
It sure would be great if our leaders would start thinking about this now before it's too late.
I H8 Memes
Member
Publicly owned companies are too concerned with next quarters numbers to worry about how their actions may hurt next years numbers. You think they are bothering to take into account what other companies are doing?
None of this is a concern for them though. They just need to drag this out long enough and then convince the suckers I'm stuck on this planet with that UBI is a good idea and then they get to be on top forever.
SlaughterX
Banned
Saying goodbye to messed up orders. So much for that $15 an hour push.
Theonik
Member
So what solution do you propose to re-distribute this wealth? Am I right in understanding that you think taxing these companies and the robot labour and distributing it to the redundant workers, lead to wealth not being redistributed?
Complistic
Member
Lol, don't get a whole lot of reasonable opinions on gaf regarding this topic. Refreshing.
I said it earlier in this thread and I will say it again. Hardly anyone will lose their jobs. McDonald's isn't going to just fire 100k people. They will do this through attrition and just not hire for a couple of months or worst case scenario reduce hours for people. When Walmart/target put in self checkouts there wasn't any large scale layoffs. These places are hiring people monthly. All they have to do is just skip months of hiring when automation occurs.
So real "problem" will be lowered demand from McDonald's to try and hire people.
So real "problem" will be lowered demand from McDonald's to try and hire people.
ResidentWeevil13
Member
From an individual perspective, of course if your job is threatened by automation you should start looking for other work that you can do or go to school to learn the tools needed for a skill-based job. And I don't think people in this thread are advocating fighting against automation, persay.
HOWEVER, the fact of the matter is that automation is removing more jobs than it creates. This is a huge problem that we as a society need to adapt to, not just something individuals need to adapt to. This will be a big problem in the coming century whether or not you continue to stick your head in the sand and keep muttering 'survival of the fittest' rhetoric.
water_wendi
Water is not wet!
Its a reasonable course of action because its the only course of action. However its not reasonable to have no fear for whats coming because soon the remaining positions that arent automated are going to be flooded by applicants also looking for the job. So not only will the positions be harder to get from both competition and increased credentials (higher education degrees for jobs that had none previously) but the pay for these positions will drop like a rock.
In addition to that even jobs that are completely 100% automation proof are still in danger of being cut because of automation. Say there is a hypothetical business where the jobs can only be done by humans. How are they going to stay in business when everyone in the community around them is destitute?
sechsterangriff
Member
This already happened in Portugal. Now you have a bunch of ordering kiosks that issue a number that gets called when your order is ready. Now it's not uncommon to have only one traditional cashier.
I personally prefer it this way, because it's less prone to ordering errors.
I personally prefer it this way, because it's less prone to ordering errors.
phxxBullet
Banned
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Kaiser Swayze
Member
Government resources need to be spent in getting no-skill and low-skill workers the training and education they need for the kind of work that's available. If you think you can just mandate businesses not to automate, or that this basic income scheme will ever become a reality, it's not happening.
Same goes for your plan.
water_wendi
Water is not wet!
Even if the government spent resources on educating everyone with low/no skills where would they go? Lets take the mythical "new industry" that people say will magically spring into existence off the table and look at whats real and now. What industry with higher education requirement is going to absorb a million new hires? 10 million? 50 million?
MsKrisp
Member
Did you seriously just equate automation with the holocaust? This is ridiculous. I bet people said the same thing when the cotton gin was invented.
You're damn right I did. The poem is less about the holocaust and more about protecting humanity even if there's no immediate threat to you personally. Automation will eliminate more jobs than any single invention ever. It's only a matter of time before we're all in the same boat with that uneducated fast food worker. Now is the time to take a stand.
Gravy Boat
Member
My job is building automation tools.
You could say the cotton gin was responsible for another institution of misery and death for millions.
MsKrisp
Member
You could say that about all of industrialization.
Diablohead
Member
My local mcdonalds where I live in the UK added kisoks last year and they only have one till now instead of about 6.
AppleSeason
Member
The way I see it, it just means that the person up front will just be preparing the drinks and giving the orders to people, or having more time to clean tables and pick back the trays. The times I have seen automated cashier's, they worked more as an alternative way of ordering for people who are really on a hurry, like in supermarkets. Despite the self checkout, all the cashier's are always busy as heck.
It's not the first time I see automated cashier's. The way I see, this would allow for extra orders of food speeding up the process and acting as an extra option. You can't kill human cashier's as a) you still need a person to give the orders to people b) not everybody can or will want to use a machine. Like a blind person or a kid who does not have a credit card.
Ps: I also automate stuff for a living. The amount of productivity they ask of us can't be done doing the stuff manually.
It's not the first time I see automated cashier's. The way I see, this would allow for extra orders of food speeding up the process and acting as an extra option. You can't kill human cashier's as a) you still need a person to give the orders to people b) not everybody can or will want to use a machine. Like a blind person or a kid who does not have a credit card.
Ps: I also automate stuff for a living. The amount of productivity they ask of us can't be done doing the stuff manually.
People are still actually preparing the food for you so I don't know why you think you still won't have messed up orders.
The reaction should be "why do we have to live and depend upon jobs" instead of "oh no, my method of survival value is gone!"
Sooner or later we will become woke to this.
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