Initially, one might assume that “A.I.” refers to “artificial intelligence.” However, it appears the term is more artificial than intelligent, as it actually stands for “Actually Indians” according to Amazon.
Amazon is discontinuing its “Just Walk Out” technology from all its Fresh grocery stores in the US, as reported by The Information. What was initially marketed as an AI initiative apparently involved thousands of Indians manually adding items to carts and charging customers based on the items they walked out with.
“Just Walk Out” or “Amazon Go” was marketed as a self-checkout system powered by cameras and sensors, creating the illusion of an automated process.
Amazon asserted that the achievement combines computer vision, object recognition, advanced sensors, deep machine learning models, and generative AI, a form of artificial intelligence that has piqued public interest recently.
Jon Jenkins, Vice President of Just Walk Out technology, commented: “Our tech is able to distinguish shoppers from one another, without collecting or using any of their biometric information. Just Walk Out technology detects when a shopper’s hand interacts with a product on the shelf. When that happens, machine learning algorithms make sure the correct item is added to the virtual cart—all without any specific knowledge about the person.”
However, the reality of this so-called “technology” is far less thrilling.
According to a report by Gizmodo, “Just over half of Amazon Fresh stores are equipped with Just Walk Out.” This technology enables customers to bypass checkout by scanning a QR code upon entering the store.
Despite appearing fully automated, Just Walk Out relied on over 1,000 individuals in India who watched and labeled videos to ensure accurate transactions. Essentially, cashiers were relocated off-site and monitored shoppers remotely as they perused the aisles.
Furthermore, maintaining the equipment proved to be costly, with numerous issues such as delayed receipts and incorrect orders reported. In essence, instead of replacing cashiers, a complex array of machinery was required to achieve the same outcome, necessitating off-site cashiers to perform similar tasks.
Recent reports indicate that Amazon is contemplating a shift towards Dash Carts, which feature built-in scanners and screens, an Amazon spokesperson informed Gizmodo that they are introducing Amazon Dash Cart to replace their Just Walk Out technology.
Initially unveiled in 2016, Just Walk Out faced criticism, with a report by The Information revealing that 700 out of 1,000 transactions required human intervention anyway.
Twitter users expressed amusement upon learning that Amazon’s touted “AI” was, in fact, Automated Indians, bolstering the notion that generative AI relies on offshore labor from third world countries, where labor is basically free.
The entire concept feels hilariously dystopian. Cashierless shopping revolving around being surveilled by AI (An Indian) who tracks the items you select, adds them to your cart, and charges you upon exiting the store.
Ironically, some individuals have reported waiting hours after leaving the store before receiving receipts for their purchases through “Just Walk Out.” This delay is likely because the surveillance footage had to be reviewed by various Indian workers.
We can anticipate witnessing more of this trend as AI continues to proliferate and integrate into our lives and workplaces. While our initial perceptions of generative AI may revolve around basic tasks like solving equations, generating essays, or creating user-generated images, its adoption in the workplace will primarily be driven by the goals of cost reduction and efficiency enhancement.
For instance, AI can be leveraged to streamline tasks like translations, eliminating the biases or political influences introduced by cancerous localizers. However, the shift towards utilizing AI, whether it be artificial intelligence or outsourcing tasks to low budget Indians will lead to job displacement for many workers.
In response to the report that Amazon’s AI stood for Autonomous Indians, an Amazon spokesperson stated:
“We’ve invested a lot of time redesigning a number of our Amazon Fresh stores over the last year, offering a better overall shopping experience with more value, convenience, and selection and so far we’ve seen positive results, with higher customer shopping satisfaction scores and increased purchasing.
We’ve also heard from customers that while they enjoyed the benefit of skipping the checkout line with Just Walk Out, they also wanted the ability to easily find nearby products and deals, view their receipt as they shop, and know how much money they saved while shopping throughout the store.
To deliver even more convenience to our customers, we’re rolling out Amazon Dash Cart, our smart-shopping carts, which allows customers all these benefits including skipping the checkout line.”
The spokesperson also clarified that the portrayal of Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology being entirely dependent upon human reviewers to be “incorrect.” Because of course, a multi billion dollar company can never truly do any wrong.
“The primary role of our Machine Learning data associates is to annotate video images, which is necessary for continuously improving the underlying machine learning model powering Just Walk Out technology. Associates may also validate a small minority of shopping visits where our computer vision technology cannot determine with complete confidence an individual’s purchases. Just Walk Out technology has continued to scale while reducing the number of human reviews year-over-year.”
It’s quite an achievement for a company as vast as Amazon to reduce its dependence on Indian “AI” workers year after year. As they phase out their “Just Walk Out” technology in grocery stores, Amazon is now turning its attention to AI-powered shopping carts, known as Dash Carts.
These carts are equipped with digital touch screens, enabling users to effortlessly scan the items they choose from store shelves, add them to their cart, and continue moving through the store.
This innovative approach is far more streamlined and civilized, requiring significantly less “AI” Indian monitoring, surveillance, and curation.
