Page 1 of Remember that bit in Minority Report where the shop recognises you as you walk in the door?

It's like that, only real. 

Amazon have been trialling a store where after scanning an app upon entry, the camera system recognises and tracks you as you walk around the store, and detects when you take something on the shelf (or put it back) and you're billed as you leave the building.

I don't mean to go all Bandicoot on myself, but this sets a terrifying precedent, wide open for exploitation should the user data fall into the wrong hands. Plus the chances for billing errors are incalculable, as well as the known error of the system having trouble differentiating between people of similar body types.

Not to mention the lack of jobs something like this will generate - but then staff satisfaction and retention has never been high on Amazon's agenda.

Remember when Amazon were just a handy DVD store from the channel islands?

============================


Writer`s Release

Yeah, I can see how this will work round our way. Store opens, thirty seconds later the shelves are empty, ten seconds after that, all of the tech has been ripped out and stolen, ten seconds after that, the whole place has been vandalised, and someone's crapped in the aisles.

It'll be cheaper to have tills and counter staff, than all the security that it will need.

===========================
Jitendar Canth

Quote:
"I thought what I`d do was, I`d pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes."

Site Reviewer at DVD Reviewer & MyReviewer

Carving out a niche with a pneumatic drill at Anime @ MyReviewer.com

Well I will go all Bandicoot and state that this is really big brother, without bothering to hide it as such. Also another step towards the cashless society.

Once cash is gone, and we are in a cashless society,  all of you assets are noted and filled by Government agencies and they know how much or how little you have, and as its just numbers, they could reduce them to zero overnight if they wished to destroy you or keep you under control. 

Anyway, the above shopping method is a hopeless system, not only of big bro watching you and doubts about shop security, but also with the fear of wrong billing and difficulty of getting it corrected.

I remember decades ago in the states that they tried quick shopping in a few supermarkets and it failed as well. They offered ready filled food in option Trolley A, B, C, D and E.
You decided on which list of shopping was in the already filled trolley, take it to the checkour, and your instantly out the door.
But it failed as most people did not like 100% of what was in the trolley, even though there were five options, so it was back to self-service and fill the trolley with what you want.

There's something vaguely like it at our local Tesco.
Swipe your card and pick up a bar code scanner. Scan everything as it goes in your trolley plug the scanner in to a till at the end pay and walk.


Snaps

Yep, we have those at both our Extras, but at least there's still a modicum of human interaction, and aside from scanning your clubcard to activate the unit, that's as far as Customer recognition goes. Plus there's sense that you're responsible for your transaction, instead of letting a computer completely handle that side of things for you. As much as I love computers, I know they're not infallible, so when a company places complete faith in an automated system it fills me with dread. 

Which is why self-driving cars and robot surgeons are doomed to fail, but that's a different arguement

============================


Writer`s Release

Quote:
Pete-MK says...
"Remember when Amazon were just a handy DVD store from the channel islands?"
Nah, that was Play247...








My Blu-ray Screenshot Site

I'm in IT sales and we're currently trialling technology with a very high-end store that will enable them to know when Mr X has got on a plane in Dubai, which hotel he's staying at in London and when his chaffeur-driven limo is going to be within 500 yards of their store, all down to his social media use and previous behaviour. His FaceBook, etc, will be targeted with discount offers for the store a few days in advance and the store will have a personal shopper ready to greet him at the door - and he hasn't even told them he's going to shop there. Once he's inside, bluetooth tracking will direct him to wherever he wants to go.

Big Brother? You ain't seen nothin' yet.

This item was edited on Friday, 26th January 2018, 13:00

Also Mr X can be targeted by the CIA with a smart bomb 

Quote:
Mix Man says...
"I'm in IT sales and we're currently trialling technology with a very high-end store that will enable them to know when Mr X has got on a plane in Dubai..."
I wanted to click Like to that post but I didn't want to send the wrong impression. :)


Editor
MYREVIEWER.COM

My Flickr Photostream