Recently, I went to a supermarket to pick something up. I believe it was just before the Super Bowl, although I cannot remember when, or even which supermarket.
That is not really all that important.
What I saw in there, however, seemed like a glimpse of the future. For better or for worse, I saw a robot wondering the halls of the supermarket. It was odd looking, and such a surprise to me, that I decided to take a couple of pictures. It seemed to me that I was the only one who even noticed this thing, let alone took a pause for thought about it. Everybody else just kept looking at what they were trying to shop for, going about their business like everything was normal.
As a kid, I think that this would have fascinated me. Most likely, I would have thought it was so cool. As an adult, my enthusiasm was dampened quite a bit by the reality of what I was seeing, and the deeper meaning behind it. Already, we have seen the self-checkout lanes grow in number, taking jobs away from human beings. I try and avoid those, unless pressed for time, admittedly. But this seemed like yet another ominous reminder that, yet again, technology was well on it's way to replacing human beings, even at a local supermarket.
So here are the pictures that I took. It was earlier this year, I believe, just before the Super Bowl, although it may have been just before Christmas. Not sure when it was, although it has been a few months. But it was the first time that I, personally, saw something which, it seems almost a certainty, we will all be seeing, and taken for granted, in the near future.
These are the pictures of the robot that I saw on that day.
No comments:
Post a Comment