Everytime I go to the grocery store, it seems as if there is less and less actual workers working there.  Instead, they have auto checkout machines that do most of the work.  One guy can monitor 6 lanes.  That’s 6 less employees they need.  Good for business, great for consumers, bad for cashiers.

My Predicitions for the Automation of Repetitive Labor

1. Grocery Stores will no longer price items.  The price will electronically display underneath the item’s location.

2. Cashiers will no longer ring up items.  Rather, they will monitor the checkout process.

3. Fast Food will almost be completely automated.  In fact some Mc Donalds operate via a call center for their drive through lanes.

NY Times: “Ms. Vargas works not in a restaurant but in a busy call center in this town, 150 miles from Los Angeles. She and as many as 35 others take orders remotely from 40 McDonald’s outlets around the country. The orders are then sent back to the restaurants by Internet, to be filled a few yards from where they were placed.”