Just over half of Amazon Fresh stores are equipped with Just Walk Out. The technology allows customers to skip checkout altogether by scanning a QR code when they enter the store. Though it seemed completely automated, Just Walk Out relied on more than 1,000 people in India watching and labeling videos to ensure accurate checkouts. The cashiers were simply moved off-site, and they watched you as you shopped.
One thing I know for a fact that is probably the most troubling/dystopian, is that the technology absolutely exists and works pretty well to be able to track the movements of every individual person in a crowd, including by having multiple camera angles as a person moves in and out of view. Drones, satellites, and street cameras can absolutely be used to do this on a fairly large scale, and I have to assume it is being done. Amazon’s technology in particular isn’t exactly doing this and I don’t necessarily think they are providing it to 5 eyes or whatever, but I know for a fact it can and is being done at least for some BS convenience stores.
Probably schools tbh, there have been a lot of papers floated about using a camera and AI to tell if students are paying attention or cheating or whatever. There’s already exammonitor & others using webcams so it’s not a huge leap to make.
How do the cost savings stack up? Checkout staff are not paid very well and most stores have dumped most of the labour onto consumers with self checkout anyway
It’s super expensive, prohibitively so for now although they might actually bring down the cost. But they’re allegedly finding that sales are actually higher in their in-stadium stores compared with the alternative, so it might actually have a legitimate advantage there. Plus they mostly sell overpriced beer there, so it’s not totally crazy that it could be profitable.