Position open: computer wanted!

By Julian Sudre


I have baulked at modernisation for fear of being incompatible with the morals of today’s etiquette.
My recalcitrance is exacerbated by the obsessive manner of mine to decamp from public appearance that could belittle my grasp of contemporary evolution. Such action could not have been held off continuously.

When the oyster card made its appearance on the London scene, I thought, it was an evolutionary step that would enable million of commuters to travel smoothly around the capital. And it goes without saying that progress pertains to computers; an avant-garde conception of the dwindling of human beings pointed me in the direction of a world where one day, the only interaction to do business will be with computers.

Backing off from machines was a short-term option; I used to enjoy the quick-fired courtesy to ask for a service at the customer care window; now I hear myself saying: how are you to a computer at Tesco!

Tesco was not the pioneer in the field of self-checkouts. Last year, Asda, an affiliate of the giant Wal-Mart, launched the super-killer employee computer. Reluctantly, and also by force of habit, I nudged my way towards the “normal” checkout to process my sale and managed to steer clear from having to do the grunt work myself!

Across the pond, the service in supermarkets is quasi-excellent; a human feeling is pervasive throughout as well as having our foodstuff bagged for us, which I believe is sensible. Back in Britain, I have come away with the go-get-your-food-and-bug-off-now feeling; the idea of implementing computers to replace people at checkouts irrefutably corroborates my stance over the de-humanised ambiance of a British supermarket.

Now, a digital female voice welcomes us to proceed and scan our items; the chore of doing our shopping has been compounded by filling in for an employee at Tesco.
And to add insult to injury was the time I bought some wine and tried to scan it; the computer voice vocalised that the item required authorisation from a Tesco employee.
It is all very well to take four wages away and replace those cashiers by robots that never call in sick but are big companies expanding their profits by installing robots and sacrificing a potential job? The answer must certainly be yes in the long-term future. Hence the sprouting up of machines versus humans is becoming striking.

It was yesterday my first encounter, or should I say interchange with a self-checkout.
The all-singing and dancing little devil was all fun and games because I did not have to acknowledge the presence of the cashier? or rather because it was a first?

Evidently we are heading into a robotic world that could be sooner that we would believe it to be.