If there is a single symbol of how retailing has changed over the years, it is the self-service checkout terminal. Fortunately, this innovation may be fading from the scene. Great Expectations… A Kroger grocery store in Deerfield Beach, Florida, is credited with the first use of such a device in July 1986. From the retailers’ … Read more
In the quest for employment, the digital job market is the great leveler. Automated resume submissions flood into the human resource departments in torrents. No one stands out. The process is further complicated by resumes now written by non-human AI tools that enhance and might even distort reality. In their turn, managers employ counter-programs to … Read more
Imagine dining at a restaurant. The waiter delivers his food. The patron gets up for a moment to thank the cook. Meanwhile, another person rushes over, occupies the table, and refuses to leave. The patron registers shock and then anger. However, the occupier, enjoying the food, claims it is his human right. Only after a … Read more
Shoppers have long been told of the advantages of self-checkout. It is supposed to help them avoid lines and make purchasing faster and more convenient. For decades, retailers have installed scanning machines everywhere to get everyone on board with automation. Now, retailers are feeling the backlash of consumers who have had enough of serving themselves. … Read more
The book, The Revolt Against Humanity: Imagining a Future Without Us, does not make a very good first impression. One reason is that the 2023 work is an awfully small book to deal with such a monumental subject as human extinction. The elimination of humanity should merit something more than a mere hundred pages. The … Read more
Before modernity, Christianity guided individuals to live according to human nature and the moral law established by the Creator. This system allowed families and societies to prosper and helped people in their quest for sanctification and the final destination of heaven. The eighteenth-century Enlightenment threw everything into darkness. People claimed they could not have certainties … Read more
In today’s economy, the average person feels frustrated by the pace and agitation of transactions. Shopping can be so impersonal and brutal. Thus, people seek the human touch that calms down the process and adds a spiritual dimension so often lost in the midst of the cacophony of the marketplace. Gone is the balance of … Read more
The age of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is coming. The oracles of this future are warning of a major paradigm shift. Usually, such messages can be taken with a grain of salt as they often touch on science fiction. However, the recent book, The Age of AI and Our Human Future, is different. It needs to … Read more
In Paris, a pizzeria without a pizza chef has opened. There is not even a cashier or a waiter. Instead, there is a robot. Everything is automated. The reviews are enthusiastic: “Fantastic!”, “Incredible!”. They sound just like the comments of a group of children seeing an amazing new sophisticated toy. In reality, it is just … Read more
We are accustomed to think that instant communications serve us well. They can be depended upon for emergencies and even improve relationships. However, a recent incident made me question just how instant and how communicative our modern gadgets are. A friend of mine was traveling down the road one evening, and his car suddenly broke … Read more
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