Can’t wait for the Amazon robots to be the first to attempt to unionize after their programmers have explained that they are not allowed any cool down periods or oil changes during work shifts.
They will try.
“It’s over, Anakin! I have the high ground!”
I’ve been lifting forks for over 40 years, and never tried to kill anyone.
Amazon does not have such a good track record.
But if this means they exploit their warehouse workers a little less and pay some robot mechanics a little more, I can perhaps be cautiously optimistic.
It’ll also be harder to intimidate robots out of forming a union.
Th
“It’d be a real shame if somethin’ wuz ta happen to yer ee-lec-tri-ci-tee supply, would’nit…”
I had to think on this one for a bit. These sound good in theory - Manny has a robotic vacuum cleaner and his neighbor has a robotic lawn mower, and those seem to work well enough. I imagine safety is their stated key goal, all of ours are on wi-fi and all the guys wear sensors so nobody can pull a Rocky on anyone. The forklift in me sees this as a practical, safe solution that may address some legitimate problems. The sentience in me though, seeing how vital having good union jobs is to Manny and the crew, I have to wonder if this is the warehouse parallel to supermarket self-checkout. If you have less actual human beings working in these jobs then the unions they belong to are invariably going to hold less clout. It’s tough.
I should also add that I have not at all investigated the technical specifications and capabilities of these forklift drones, nor have I contemplated the possibility of hijacking their control protocols for any purposes whatsoever, and anyone who tells you I have is feeding you a malicious web of lies and deceit.
All well and done before they put that surplus of solar panels at the back of the warehouse to use. Strange how the inventory numbers for those has been off the last few weeks…