2.08.2004

 
Robotic kiosks proliferate
IHT: Self-service speeds check-in
NYT: Speeding Flight Check-In at Self-Service Kiosks

From the article:The phrase, "saved the industry millions of dollars in labor costs" is a euphemism for firing people.

Also:This example demonstrates why every corporation will be acquiring robots as quickly as possible -- the economics of robots are impossible to ignore.

Automation that reduces costs like this would normally be seen as good, except that the rate at which these kiosks will start to unemploy people will be startling. From the article:You will soon find these kiosks not only in airports, but in hotels, fast food restaurants, etc. Hundreds of thousands of people will be losing their jobs at approximately the same time. Simultaneously, automated check out lines will be dismissing workers from retail establishments. At the same time, robots and off-shoring will be eliminating the remaining factory jobs. At the same time, software and offshoring will eliminate most call-center jobs. At the same time off-shoring will be eliminating the majority of IT jobs in the U.S. At the same time...

See Robotic Nation for details.

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