AI ROBOTS DEPLOYMENT: A THREAT TO AMAZON’S EMPLOYEES
Amazon
Amazon is one of the largest and most popular online marketplaces where users can buy items from The company directly or from third-party sellers through Amazon. It enables a customer to order the products and get them delivered using common courier services worldwide it also sells its technology products. We have probably heard of their e-reader ‘Kindle’. It is one of the largest companies in the world whose market capitalization has crossed 1 trillion dollars. This is the third largest book producer after PetroChina and Apple. When we come across the name Amazon, very few of us understand that Amazon is just an E-Commerce company but it is not true. Today Amazon is involved in every field of internet business.
Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994.
Jeff Bezos is the richest person in the world today. Initially, the name of Amazon was Cadbera. Inspired by the name of the Amazon River, the world’s biggest river, Jeff Bezos changed its name to Amazon. And its logo also says a lot in itself, it has an arrow pointing from A to Z, it is not just for a decorative design but it gives the message that Amazon sells all the legal things from A to Z on its website.
Achievements of Amazon:
Now let us talk about some achievements of the company :
- 1) Worlds largest E-commerce company
- 2) The largest virtual assistant company & largest cloud computing company — Amazon provides the largest virtual assistance through Alexa and cloud computing services through AWS Web services.
- 3) This company is the world’s largest internet company, surpassing Google, Microsoft and IBM. Along with this, it is also the largest employment-providing company in the United States after Walmart.
It is one of the few Internet companies in the world that survived the .com crash of 2000 and is continuing its business even further.
It has more than 32 subsidiary companies some of them were acquired and some of them were started.
According to the current situation, Amazon has stepped into every field of Internet business in
In streaming services compared to Netflix and Disney Hotstar Amazon has launched Prime Video.
Movie reviews comparison to Rotten Tomatoes it has launched IMDb.
In the music industry, in comparison to music and Spotify, it has launched prime music.
Virtual assistant services in comparison to Google Home and Apple series have launched Amazon Alexa.
In logistics services, in comparison to FedEx, it has launched Amazon logistics.
In wallet payment in comparison to Google Pay and Paytm Amazon Pay has been launched.
How does Amazon Work?
Well, there are three ways to use Amazon.
Online shopping:
Amazon and its third-party users offer a wide variety of products or items. Increasing the chances of finding what we are looking for. We can search for the items we want to pick out the ones we like the best and at them to a shopping Cart. For everything we want to buy, we can start the virtual checkout process just like we do at a physical store’s checkout counter. And there is all your shipping and billing information to let Amazon know where to send an order and how you want to pay for it. Once you have placed your order the company will send it to your doorstep. Amazon is the top choice for online shopping.
Selling:
The second way to use Amazon is selling Amazon allows its third party to sell their items using websites. If you are interested in selling a few items or a lot Amazon can help you to do it. You can sell anything from books to electronics to sports equipment. Based on how much you sold Amazon can help you to make a deposit to your bank account.
Technology products:
Amazon is now not just only an online marketplace but also a manufacturer of cutting-edge digital devices and services. Amazon’s most well-known product is the Kindle. Kindle is a specialized e-reader that you can use to read books articles magazines or even your local newspaper. Along with this, the company has another masterpiece called Fire Tablet. Amazon Fire tablet is similar to an Apple iPad It is designed for entertainment like playing games and watching movies and we can also use it for emails, creating and sharing Microsoft Office documents and browsing the internet. Lastly is Fire TV. Fire TV is the box that turns a television into a do-it-all-all entertainment centre. We can use it to watch movies and TV shows using services such as Netflix, HBO, go and YouTube. We can also listen to music and play games.
Amazon delivery
This competitive edge is crucial in an industry where fast delivery times can make or break customer loyalty. The trend of using robots in warehouses is not unique to Amazon. In China for example the adoption of warehouse robots has been accelerating leading to a significant reduction in human labour in this environment. This shift is part of a broad technology where automation is transforming industries globally enhancing productivity while posing challenges for the workforce. Interestingly the company not only uses the robots but also owns the technology behind them. This ownership allows them to refine and perfect these robots within their operations.
Amazon UBI
However, the pressure is on workers to adapt and acquire new skills that complement the capabilities of AI and robotics. As we navigate the age of AI and robotics, there is growing concern about Job displacement and its implications. Some experts argue that the widespread adoption of automation might lead to Universal Basic Income (UBI) as a solution to massive unemployment.
However, this shift also brings questions about identity and purpose in a world where traditional jobs might be scarce. The debate over whether to boycott Amazon due to its use of robots is complex, while automation undoubtedly impacts jobs. It’s also a driver of efficiency and competitiveness in the market.
AMAZON ROBOTS REPLACING EMPLOYEES
Now as we have discussed the company and its other various features, let us know about some cons of Amazon. Are you aware of the news prevailing about Amazon? Let us dive into it and fit our info. This company being the major player in the E-Commerce industry has integrated about 7,50,000 robots into its operation display. It is now testing out humanoid robots in its U.S. warehouses including a new robot named Digit.
Amazon Robots
The company is replacing all their employees with AI robots leaving everyone Jobless. The Otto Group a big online shopping company around the world is teaming up with Boston Dynamics to make their shipping better. For the next two years, they will put the spot robot in over 10 warehouses and also stretch the robot to over 20 warehouses. The robots will perform different jobs such as checking the problems and helping to lift heavy objects, they can grasp, move and even handle items carefully just like a human being. According to the company, they want to do this to make the warehouse safer, and faster, it claims that this will free employees up for better customer service. But this also draws some criticism to the well-known brand image of the company from unions accusing the company of replacing human employees with robots resulting in job loss. It is to be noted that the company still employs more than 1.5 million workers.
Jobs
The company’s deployment of robots has only replaced around 1 lakh jobs which is a relatively small fraction of their overall workforce. This suggests that the Automation of robots made by the company is augmenting rather than replacing humans with robots. The company’s primary goal in using robots is to enhance efficiency and reduce delivery times keeping them ahead of competitors like ALIBABA and JD.com which also employ automation in their warehouses. Robots can work continuously without breaks, significantly speeding up operations and reducing errors.
Amazon work-culture
Amazon not just as a user but also as a supplier of advanced robotics technology. Research shows that integration of the robots into the world and workforce can lead to job displacement and wage suppression. For instance, studies indicate that for every robot headed per 1000 workers about 3.3 jobs are lost and wages decrease by 0.4%. While robots can increase productivity and lower costs. These benefits often come with the expenses of workers particularly those who are low in skills. But not all jobs are at risk such as Fields that require creativity, and empathy and complex decision making such as Teaching, Nursing and Social work are less likely to be replaced by AI (ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE).
