How Amazon’s Latest “Palm-Scanning” Technology May Affect the Future of Retail
Photo by Amazon One
Retail giants like Amazon, Walmart, and Costco are always looking for new ways to make the customer experience more efficient. While these companies push to find new frontiers of technological advancement, what helps their bottom line doesn’t always do the same for workers and consumers.
Recently, Amazon expanded its palm-scanning check-out device called Amazon One to additional Whole Foods locations in California, such as Malibu, Montana Avenue, and Santa Monica. There are also a few devices in Austin, New York, and Seattle. These devices were initially implemented in 2020 but are now being implemented in more stores to determine how they can improve customer interactions. Beyond this, Amazon has plans to sell this technology to other retailers as well.
So how does it work? According to Amazon One (via Amazon One): “Amazon One simplifies everyday interactions. It’s a free, contactless service that lets you use your palm to pay, enter, or identify yourself. (Amazon One) is a quick and easy way to make a payment, enter a venue, or identify yourself.”
Amazon One is one of several Amazon devices that have plans to revolutionize the consumer experience, but at what cost? Despite the promises of supposed efficiency, this raises questions about who will be empowered in a future of work dominated by Artificial Intelligence’s collision with big data. What responsibility do large corporations have to ensure they are not completely displacing workers? If endless achievements in efficiency also lead to a drastic sidelining of retail workers, what new opportunities are we creating instead?
Only time will tell how these AI devices affect the future of the retail industry. Nevertheless, businesses need to think about the ramifications of excessive automation and what they’re doing to create pathways to new opportunity. Workers, on the other hand, should investigate the ways in which tech is already impacting their industry.