So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[LizzieMaine]

When robots become class-conscious.

 

[Fading Fast]

Just last night a friend of mine was complaining that while she can get a lot of temporary positions as an administrative assistant, she can't get a permanent position. She left her last permanent job to care for her mother who was suffering from dementia and old age and was out of the workforce for about 2 years. It's been 4 years since she started looking for a new job, but with no success yet. She's 54 and has worked all of her adult life in this field. I can only imagine with everyone having their own computers and doing most of their own correspondence, making appointments, etc. themselves is one of the reasons she's having difficulty getting permanent employment. She doesn't have any interest in going to school to learn to do something else, but more importantly she doesn't have the money since she's still helping to pay off her daughter's college loans and dd's upcoming wedding next year.

And earlier today, I read an article about robots now being used as police officers in Dubai, making up 25% of their police force. It never crossed my mind that the jobs of human police officers might one day be obsolete. Although, I'm not sure that in crime-ridden areas like Chicago the robot officers will be any safer from being shot at than their human counterparts.

When I started in finance in '85, there were a lot of secretaries (which, in the '90s, were renamed administrative assistance) - literally secretarial pools - as typing up correspondence, "keeping" an exec's calendar, booking travel, etc., was time consuming.

But as the internet came on line - and all of those tasks became pretty easy - the "pools" shrunk and, other than the highest level execs, most managers lost their secretaries or "shared" them. At the last firm I was at, three or four managing directors (a very senior title) would share one admin and managers a level down - directors, vice presidents - didn't get any.

And the younger execs, those in their 30s who had risen quickly, didn't even want an admin as, they were so comfortable with the technology, they'd rather do all those tasks themselves.

One other thought, since - in many cases - hiring someone in full time also means full-time benefits (in some cases, by law) and letting someone go isn't something most companies like to do (I genuine mean this as, at least in my field, most companies don't like doing it as it demoralizes everyone), instead, they hire in a lot of temp workers.

 

[tonyb]

There is some debate over who first observed something to the effect of “first we shape our tools, and then our tools shape us,” but the notion isn’t such a profound one. It almost glaringly obvious, really.

Making that easily comprehended concept much more complicated and hifalutin than it actually is became something of an academic industry in the second half of the last century.

Beats honest work, I suppose.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Robots just want to be friends.

 

[2jakes]

"The Tin Man was not a robot, but the designers in the future would be well to remember the need for a heart, the kind the Tin Man had: no flesh required, only love or algorithms that simulate love to such a startling degree that we won’t be able to tell any difference."

 

[Zombie_61]

Robots just want to be friends.

Do they?

 

[2jakes]

I prefer when robots such as Robby had not quite become "class-conscious".

 

[Just Jim]

I'm bothered by self-checkouts for a lot of reasons. The majority of checkout people here are older women -- most of them in their fifties and sixties, and they aren't working for fulfillment, or to make "extra money," they're working because they have to to survive. When they lose their jobs to automation, as they inevitably will, what happens to them? You aren't going to see the average sixty-five year old woman who's been doing checkout work because it was all she could get after she lost her job at the fish cannery "going back to school to learn how to code so she can get a job with a tech startup." Tech startups don't hire sixty-five year old women, no matter how many coding certificates they have. "What's going to become of her?" is a legitimate question, and "well, that's just how it is" is not an acceptable answer. I've yet to hear an acceptable answer.

I just can't bring myself to much care.

The robot checkout line is preferable to going to a checkout line with a "real live person" who won't acknowledge my existence beyond telling me the total (if that). I went to a "regular" checkout line the other day and a clerk actually said "hello"--first time that has happened in almost a year.

The local Mickie-D's averages screwing up a simple one-item-off-the-breakfast-menu order more than half the time, and it is not unheard of to have counter-staff scream profanities or make threats if you try to get your order corrected. A robot would be worse how?

 

[GHT]

Do they?

Well, they can be annoying, but they can be very funny too:

 

[LizzieMaine]

I just can't bring myself to much care.

The robot checkout line is preferable to going to a checkout line with a "real live person" who won't acknowledge my existence beyond telling me the total (if that). I went to a "regular" checkout line the other day and a clerk actually said "hello"--first time that has happened in almost a year.

The local Mickie-D's averages screwing up a simple one-item-off-the-breakfast-menu order more than half the time, and it is not unheard of to have counter-staff scream profanities or make threats if you try to get your order corrected. A robot would be worse how?

I can honestly say I've never had any of that happen to me -- I get along fine with the checkout people I deal with, I kid around with them all the time, and they're always very pleasant. I eat far too much fast food for my own good due to my work schedule, and I'm very well known to the Clown, the King, and the Colonel -- and I've never had a hostile reaction from any of them. Occasionally you'll run into a sullen teenage boy who doesn't exactly offer service with a smile, but I've never been verbally assaulted by any clerk I've ever dealt with.

I have, however, been verbally assaulted by customers at work -- I've been called an idiot, a "retard," and a stupid bitch, and have been told to "give me my f***ing ticket" by dignified senior citizens who have a problem with the idea of having to stand in line. I used to get aggravated with scenes like this, but now I pity the people who provoke them. Clearly there's something more wrong in their lives than just feeling that they shouldn't have to wait for service.

 

[2jakes]

I just can't bring myself to much care.

The robot checkout line is preferable to going to a checkout line with a "real live person" who won't acknowledge my existence beyond telling me the total (if that). I went to a "regular" checkout line the other day and a clerk actually said "hello"--first time that has happened in almost a year.

The local Mickie-D's averages screwing up a simple one-item-off-the-breakfast-menu order more than half the time, and it is not unheard of to have counter-staff scream profanities or make threats if you try to get your order corrected. A robot would be worse how?

Prior to going to news reporting, I worked retail dept. stores for several years.
I noticed that during the holiday seasons brought out the worst behavior from customers.
Early on I discovered that the best way to handle a tense situation was to
“kill em with kindness”.
The majority of the customers had issues from elsewhere and would come to dump them
at the store.
I looked at it as a challenge if I could turn around the attitude of the customer.
I was very good at changing a situation and having a satisfied customer.

Comments like, "I can get this item for less at the other store!”
I would reply, "I totally agree with you!”.
They didn’t expect that and would look at me puzzled as they walked away.

Btw:
I enjoy "real live person” check out at the stores. I've yet to come
across an unruly salesclerk. Most will provide a service that makes me happy
because I make it a point to make them feel the same.

Automated self-check out is fast and convenient, but sometimes people
will stare when I pay myself a compliment for doing such great job.
wink

 

[GHT]

I can honestly say I've never had any of that happen to me -- I get along fine with the checkout people I deal with, I kid around with them all the time, and they're always very pleasant. I eat far too much fast food for my own good due to my work schedule, and I'm very well known to the Clown, the King, and the Colonel -- and I've never had a hostile reaction from any of them. Occasionally you'll run into a sullen teenage boy who doesn't exactly offer service with a smile, but I've never been verbally assaulted by any clerk I've ever dealt with.

The security staff of one of our largest supermarkets gave me some grief. I was allowed in ten minutes before the store closed, I wrongly assumed that because I was permitted entry, I would be permitted to finish choosing my purchases, but the store guard got all bolshy with me, so I handed him my shopping basket, with a dozen or more purchases in it, and simply walked out. He still didn't get it, shouting Oi at me as I left.

I have, however, been verbally assaulted by customers at work -- I've been called an idiot, a "retard," and a stupid bitch, and have been told to "give me my f***ing ticket" by dignified senior citizens who have a problem with the idea of having to stand in line. I used to get aggravated with scenes like this, but now I pity the people who provoke them. Clearly there's something more wrong in their lives than just feeling that they shouldn't have to wait for service.

That's appalling, I haven't worked in the retail sector or anywhere that deals with Joe Public on a day to day basis, but being a manager I've handed out a disciplinary or two. To which my parents have had my legitimacy/illegitimacy questioned, that and other moronic insults, to which I always replied, "Yes, I'm the same."
And before she retired my former paramedic wife would be insulted almost daily, mostly for having the temerity of speeding by on an emergency. Nothing could be more urgent than Joe Public's life, could it?

Automated self-check out is fast and convenient, but sometimes people
will stare when I pay myself a compliment for doing such great job.
wink

Why do they give automated checkout machines a female voice?
Because they can be so damn hormonal at times.

 

[sheeplady]

I just can't bring myself to much care.

The robot checkout line is preferable to going to a checkout line with a "real live person" who won't acknowledge my existence beyond telling me the total (if that). I went to a "regular" checkout line the other day and a clerk actually said "hello"--first time that has happened in almost a year.

The local Mickie-D's averages screwing up a simple one-item-off-the-breakfast-menu order more than half the time, and it is not unheard of to have counter-staff scream profanities or make threats if you try to get your order corrected. A robot would be worse how?

As more people have moved to self-checkout, often the "human" lines are shorter. Went to Mcdonalds the other day and there were 4 people in line at the self-checkout and one who was finishing up with the cashier. I went to the cashier, and my family was eating before the third person at the machines had finished ordering.

Living in the south, doing the cashier line will result in way more conversation. I think in my 1.5 years living here I've had one person only say, "hi, how are you?" And "goodbye." Normally they talk about everything and anything with customers.

The local market will be the last to lose clerks. They serve a large and upper-middle class retirement community in a town of a population of 6,000 people. They are overly friendly, and the retirees expect it. As do the townspeople.

 

[GHT]

The local market will be the last to lose clerks. They serve a large and upper-middle class retirement community in a town of a population of 6,000 people. They are overly friendly, and the retirees expect it. As do the townspeople.

You had better believe it. Old guy goes into the doctor's. Busybody receptionist asks about his problem. Annoyed, the old guy tells her that it's his dick that's the problem. She is furious and tells him that he should have said it was his ear, then in surgery, he could explain to the doctor the sensitivity of his problem.
Old guy goes back out, turns around and walks back in. Busybody smugly asks the old fellow what his problem is. He tells her that it's his ear. She asks what's wrong with his ear. He tells her that he's having difficulty peeing out of it. Patients waiting in reception fall about.
It's a true story and the moral of the tale is:
Don't mess with us oldies.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Talking about drive-thru lines, what is it with people who feel like it's OK to line up into the middle of the street, past the boundary of the parking lot? There's a Dunkie's a couple blocks down from my house where the drive-thru driveway is quite short due to space constraints, but during the morning rush, you'll have people lined up all the way into the middle of Route 1, even though there's signs posted that clearly state IF DRIVE THRU IS FULL PARK AND GO INSIDE. You'll usually get faster service by doing this, but all these yutzes going for their morning Coolatta seem to think that going inside is too much trouble. Never mind the trouble they cause by blocking traffic for those of us who just want to get to work on time.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Do they?

Yeah, honestly.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Talking about drive-thru lines, what is it with people who feel like it's OK to line up into the middle of the street, past the boundary of the parking lot? There's a Dunkie's a couple blocks down from my house where the drive-thru driveway is quite short due to space constraints, but during the morning rush, you'll have people lined up all the way into the middle of Route 1, even though there's signs posted that clearly state IF DRIVE THRU IS FULL PARK AND GO INSIDE. You'll usually get faster service by doing this, but all these yutzes going for their morning Coolatta seem to think that going inside is too much trouble. Never mind the trouble they cause by blocking traffic for those of us who just want to get to work on time.

Have the police write some tickets for impeading the flow of traffic & see how quickly that stops.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Half the time you see a cop car in the line. After all, it's Dunkie's.

 

[Just Jim]

I can honestly say I've never had any of that happen to me -- I get along fine with the checkout people I deal with, I kid around with them all the time, and they're always very pleasant. I eat far too much fast food for my own good due to my work schedule, and I'm very well known to the Clown, the King, and the Colonel -- and I've never had a hostile reaction from any of them. Occasionally you'll run into a sullen teenage boy who doesn't exactly offer service with a smile, but I've never been verbally assaulted by any clerk I've ever dealt with.

I've never had it happen anywhere else (including a few countries where Americans weren't particularly welcome at the time). I worked retail here for several years, got to see some amusing customers, hear some amusing insults and threats, got assaulted a couple times. There's just something about this county. . . .

 

[2jakes]

Why do they give automated checkout machines a female voice?
Because they can be so damn hormonal at times.

I like Siri's voice and her responses to me.
When she admits that she doesn't know the answer without making up excuses, that is so refreshing to hear.