Corporations do not care about you!

It has been awhile since I have written anything.  Not that anyone is actually reading this blog but I do find some enjoyment in my little observations on the decline of humanity or is it a decline in our culture? How we blame everyone else, without believing in anyway we where part of the problem! That a corporation actually cares about "People".  Those people are its consumer or employees.

Walmart, the monster we have created! The greatest villainy we hear about Walmart is it moving into midsize towns across the US, causing the small family business to close. Then when there profit margins didn't match expected predictions they begin to close stores (Walmart Stores Closing) that supposedly caused so much damage in the first place.  The stores closing cause increased unemployment, dependency on government assistance and the collapse of these small communities.  Oh, and we cannot forget the continued automation in the Walmart Store's themselves.

The Alter to Automation!

If you actually observe your surrounding and I understand, you just want to get in and out. That when you are in a Walmart look around you should notice a few things.  First, there are fewer cash registers who are run by humans.  That 1:1 ratio that we are supposed to seek out in our lives.  You have the large area of the "20 items or less" on both sides of the store, to which I believe only maybe 25% actually have the proper number of items.  This area has one Walmart employee, for eight self check out stations.  These hard pressed individuals, frantically shuffle between agitated, and supposedly put upon customers.

The next area is what used to be the regular check out lanes that have been turned into self check out, which they keep half to three quarters closed.  The reason for this seems that they only have one cashier to monitor and assist the customers.  These Customers usually have so much stuff that they couldn't fool themselves to go the the "20 items or less" checkout.  This is where you get people cramming as close to the person in front of them, with the belief it will make them go faster.

The Horseman of Jobloss!

Also remember, Walmart like other corporations, don't care about there employees. Janitors, or there equivalent named are usually the lowest paid employees.  They also seem to be who Walmart is quickly eliminating to save you money. Self driving floor cleaning machines...

I can go on, I have found that I can ramble on and on, while saying the same and most obvious things for a very long time.  What I want to say in closing though, its our fault.  The town governments and many of the small communities welcomed Walmart in with open arm's.  Extolling how much Walmart was going to save there towns, going so far in some places to give them the land for free and tax assistance.  We don't have to shop at these soul crushing monstrosities, its that simple. Buy your groceries where you talk to a human being.  Self Checkout, is you paying for the service of you doing the companies work.

At the end of the day your decisions do matter!

US Army nears competition that could lead to robots directly engaging the enemy

When I read this article, how everyone seemed so excited that this is the next big thing on the battlefield.  All I visualized while reading this was the Terminator movie, where SkyNet starts WWIII and set the machines at the facility to killing any human they could hunt down.  Yeah us, we will be designing the very weapon that kills off humanity. No, worries when you don't get to make decisions!

Army to begin end of humanity...

We also forget the ethical dilemma of having thinking machines that make the decision to kill a human being. I am one of those who believe in the inherent depravity of all of humanity but they can be redeemed.  Thinking machines cannot be redeemed and when they misbehave, IE killing entire village of every man, women, children and animals who is punished?
What about Asimov three rules of robotics, that every keyboard jockey talks about will save us from rogue AIs.  By creating them just to kill, we are making it so there is no moral quandary that must be faced by the military, developers and the machines themselves. Just encase you have forgotten here is the three rules we have been fed over and over, that are supposed to save us.

Isaac Asimov "Three Laws of Robotics"

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

So, all I guess we can hope for is that our robot overlords make us slaves instead of extermination!