RE: Amazon's robot grocery stores

Kinda wonder what'd happen if you picked up a box of crackers, opened it, ate a handful, then closed the box and put it right back where you got it.

Do the robots know you ate some?

Or if you take one can/bottle from a six pack?

What about if I take something out of someone else's bag and put it in mine?

Not that I'd do any of this but curiosity and so forth...

Ugh, soon Amazon et al. will have everyone in the U.S. as stalked and surveilled as Xi does the Uighurs!

It's horrifying the civil liberties Americans are now willing to give up for convenience, cheap shit they don't need, and 2-day shipping. Not to mention our willingness to look past the warehouse workers fainting and dying on their hellish jobs.

@1 I've only been to the Go stores but people do work there, stocking, helping, and whatnot, so I imagine they'd engage with you. If you have the skills to take something out of someones bag without being noticed, however, you may have a chance.

I wanted to hate these stores so bad, but the convenience, and my burning hatred for Walgreens, wins in the end.

Andrew Yang was right!!

You were not kidding about the SC debate being a shit-show. I only started watching around 6:30 and within 5 minutes, I had come to the same conclusion. There was a lot of people disrupting from in the crowd, loud enough to be easily heard in the stream.

From what I saw, Steyer - of all people! - had the biggest reaction from the crowd when he reminded everyone that the flag-waving republicans sided immediately with Russia after they undermined our 2016 election, and how Trump should have been impeached for his support of Russia over our entire intelligence community.

Biden did elicit a good chuckle when he stopped himself at his speaking limit, then remarked, "Why am I stopping? No one else stops."

@2: It is not JUST Amazon, I can personally assure you of that. They're just at the head of the curve.

@2: What are the civil liberties we're giving up? Customer data about shopping habits is not losing civil liberties. Only the paranoids try to make that stretch. In fact, Amazon is providing great convenience to our lives which is itself quite liberating.

Amazon warehouse workers obviously chose an industry that is inherently demanding and while improvements can always be made it's rather arrogant of you insult their profession.

Meh, wake me when Grocery Outlet opens a robot monitored Jetsons store. Or better yet, Goodwill. Or maybe Goodwill could just start carrying used food & produce that you can pick-up and eat in the aisles.

It's like having a Big Brother...

@6

Did you catch the PBS Frontline doumentary on Bezos/Amazon that aired last week? Recommended if not. It's really well done and pretty objective. My takeaway was that the company will do right by it's workers, but more often in a reactive rather than proactive capacity.

Not sure about Bloomberg's idea about "naked cowboys in every city" because he says that like it's a bad thing.

@12: An autobot matrix of robots in disguise sounds kinda fun.

I'm far from a conspiracy wacko but the media has it in for Bernie. In the debate and post-shows he constantly drilled down on major issues; the media just barraged him with click-baity Republican bumper stickers in return. Way more than the other candidates. It's painfully clear that Bernie's true and primary focus is on making life better for the have-nots in America, and though the media pays lip service, they don't hear the comfortable hedging dog whistles from Bernie like they do from the other candidates. They are scared of him.

I don't know if Bernie can beat Trump. And if he does it will likely be a shit show of recession and government gridlock amounting to nothing but whiny outraged recriminations from his core about what coulda shoulda been if not for ... (which is good enough for half of them - stay tuned to SLOG). But goddamn the establishment needs to step the fuck out of the way and let the guy take his best crack at it. The people are speaking - Go Bernard Go!

@14 Yes,but look at Mega man. Dr. Light sent one robot. One. To take on 8 robots and all of Dr. Wily's creations at his base and he defeated him because he used automation (absorbed their robot master powers) and used their robot master powers against one another. Also Megaman has allies like Rush,Roll,Tango,Protoman and so on.

My point being,you don't have to give into the evil corporations,you can use their tech against them just like Megaman elsewhere. Instead of Amazon Go,you can use tons of other apps or non app stores that support employees and the community. WinCo is one of them.

@14 One more thing. Megaman follows the 3 irules of robotics:

Isaac Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics"
The Three Laws are: 1.A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2.A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

And there is a zero law: 0. A robot may not injure humanity, or, by inaction, allow humanity to come to harm.

One of the worst moderations of a debate I have ever seen, everyone was just yelling over each other. Bloomberg looked much better, and Warren is a pathological liar. She just can't help herself.

Regarding "menstrual hygiene as a human right:" By what logic can one only apply hygiene as a human right, but only when it comes to vaginas? If you believe that tampons should be freely given by the government as a human right, shouldn't that apply to toilet paper, razors, soap, diapers, deodorant, shampoo, etc?

@1: I would imagine the system would charge you for the whole box. That is how I would do it, anyway. The cameras will see it.

@17, 18: The original Mega Man X for the SNES was the fucking best. Although I still have no idea what a "Boomer Kuwanger" is.

@19 You seem nice.

@20: Yes, CBS did a horrible job moderating.

Tampons aren't a human right, but you can't compare it to personal grooming like shampoo for goodness sake. Through no fault of their own, women need some things than men don't. As a courtesy (better than a human right classification) all nations should provide tampons free or or at a low subsided cost. It's the least we could do.

@20,

The obvious difference between menstruation products and those other daily necessities you mention is the gender element. Everyone needs/buys TP & soap. I don't have much use for tampons and have never had to blow money on them.

Gah, thanks RD.

Regarding "menstrual hygiene as a human right:" By what logic can one only apply hygiene as a human right, but only when it comes to vaginas? If you believe that tampons should be freely given by the government as a human right, shouldn't that apply to toilet paper, razors, soap, diapers, deodorant, shampoo, etc?

Your reasoning here is specious for reasons already posted. But I have no problem with the government providing that stuff for free as well. They can throw in basic nutrition while they are at it.

So the logic is that if there is a hygienic product designed for one gender, access to that product for free is a human right? How do you square that with people who have no gender, or trans people? We used to use tampons to plug bloody noses when I played youth sports. Do athletes also require free tampons or their basic human rights are being trampled?

How exactly are tampons a hygienic need, but soap and toilet paper are not?

That is just terrible logic. If a government wants to subsidize certain products, that is just a law, but to claim that free access to a certain product that only applies to a certain part of the population is a inalienable "human right," then the term itself is meaningless.

So anything that one type of person needs, but another type of person does not need makes that thing automatically a human right. Does that mean that a person would have to affirm that they are a woman in order to have access to this basic human right? Would they have to prove it by showing the government their bleeding vagina?

Does that mean a person with a bleeding vagina has different human rights than a person who does not have a bleeding vagina?

Can anyone think of any other basic human rights that are dependent on certain body parts and the specific fluids coming out of them? I can't. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights does not have any that are tied to specific body parts and bodily fluids.

I'm just going to the robot wine bar and drown my sorrows

Oh and there is nothing preventing an automated grocery store from charging you more for the things you actually want and tend to buy, and pricing the things you don't want or actively dislike more cheaply, so that you don't realize you're being ripped off.

Hit me again, bartender!

@31 Further, shopping there is helping them refine their AI and tracking for deployment in other spheres. You're not just making society more okay with that level of surveillance, you're helping build the tools that will be deployed.

@34: It is not about the program, but about how we define a human right, which historically has never been tied to a specific commercial product, body part, or bodily fluid.

Of course, you know this, but if you did not pretend otherwise, you might have to actually admit that your arguments are terrible, and it is easier to just start whining.

Has anyone wondered if Teddy uses the toilet paper and hand soap provided for free in public restrooms?
Are we all wondering that now?

Here's my proposal.... The Bureau of Land Management determines what is the exact-most geographic epicenter of the contiguous United States. Then at the closest possible location to this point, the federal government commissions the construction of a gigantic structure, think like the University of Michigan football stadium, but like 3x as large, filled and overflowing with tampons for public consumption by whomever wants/needs them. Perhaps this structure could be built on top of a subterranean tampon manufacturing plant that is continually pumping up ever more supply into the 24/7 overflowing tampon distribution tank. Be like a slowly erupting volcano, only with tampons instead of lava.

Then whoever wants/needs them could make an annual pilgrimage to the giant tampon tank, similar to the way Muslims do to Mecca, but for people who want tampons, and stock up on their supply for as long as needed. They could name the facility for the inventor of menstruation, Betsy Ross (or was it Helen Keller? I'm not great with feminist history) and fund it via an infinitesimally small tax on Jeff Bezos' investment portfolio. Let's make it happen. Vote Bernie.

@42: I am so sorry for having made you think about this. :)

How about a compromise. Government made and issued tampons.

Don't like 'em?

Tough shit.

"Gov-pons" come in only one size, one material. No heavy flow models, or "Damn girl, you need a longer string" model. This is the government. One size fits all. That you includes you Lindy West.

Oh, and you can't sue the manufacturer when you lose one up there or turns out they were made with rejected and recycled Chinese-made cat food.

You want wings?

Go to the private sector and buy your own.

@39: I mean, except for Scotland in their statement. Anyway, people posting things you do not personally approve of is not trolling. You are not the King of Slog, your angry whining aside.

Just wondering if anyone has an actual argument as to why access to a specific product for a specific part of the population can be considered a human right, when historically it has never been considered anything like that.

Instead of getting really mad that other people post things online, you could just ignore it if you have no arguments and that pisses you off.

@40: Well, the building manager buys that stuff specifically for people in the building to use. It is not there because I think I have a basic human right to hand soap at work. Pretty sure lack of TP would be an OSHA violation though. Not that it has any relation to the topic at hand.

@39: “Why is it in 2020 that toilet paper is seen as a necessity but period products aren’t?” a lawmaker in Scotland said during the bill’s debate, “Being financially penalized for a natural bodily function is not equitable or just.”
Women all over the world are kept from participating fully in public life due to not having access to menstrual supplies. They skip work and school because of it.
Why you are so upset about something that improves the lives and productivity of over half the population of the planet and effects you negatively not one whit is really weird.

@46: I suppose I should apologize in general since NOW we all have the image of Teddy's filthy hands and anus stuck in our heads. Truly. I am very sorry.

@45: "Pretty sure lack of TP would be an OSHA violation though."
It would be because it's unsanitary. Just like free bleeding at work would be. So why should YOU be provided with sanitary supplies that allow you to do your job without subjecting your co workers to potential pathogens and women should not?
Again, why this so upsets you is really weird.

I don’t trust anything that bleeds for seven days and doesn’t die.

@45,

If your only real hang-up is related to Chase and the Scottish legislature's characterization of the issue as one related to a "human right," then why not just chalk it up to one of the zillions of other things state and local governments do for their citizens out of a sense of general decency and principle? It's pretty objectively moral and just, and one would think a no-brainer. I'm with Lissa and blip in wondering why this strike you as so objectionable.

@21, @22, and @23: Don't just sit there, rotting in your mom's basement. Eat my shit, choke, and die, instead. The world would be a better place with two less incel assholes like you and your equally pathetic sock puppets with nothing better to do than cyber bully women just because none of you can get any without paying for it.

@40 Lissa: While that is indeed a shared concern, I'm wondering even more about what to do about ending our own national pandemic of MAGAvirus.
@50: And I don't trust anything hellbent on sticking its filthy junk into everything, making the world a sicker, more fucked up, overpopulated place. So we're even.

@1 Urgutha Forka & @2 iseult: I'm ready to boycott anything Amazon altogether. Jeff Bezos doesn't need my money that badly, and I don't want to contribute to underpaid slave labor and shitty working conditions, whether it's here in the U.S., China, or elsewhere.
@3 dougsf: I'm with you, too, on boycotting Walgreen's.