Amazon's famous “Just Walk Out” technology, which allows customers to bypass traditional checkouts in stores, secretly relied on the manual labor of Indian workers, according to a recent report from Business Insider.
According to The Information, about 1,000 employees in India were tasked with researching what customers pick up, put down, and ultimately walk away with at Amazon's Just Walk Out stores. .
While Amazon touted the technology as a breakthrough powered entirely by computer vision, the reality is that the majority of Just Walk Out's sales required manual review by its team in India. As of 2022, about 700 out of 1,000 Just Walk Out transactions will require verification by these employees, the report said, citing anonymous sources familiar with the technology.
However, an Amazon spokesperson disputed this claim, claiming that an India-based team primarily helped train the models used for Just Walk Out. “Employees may also verify a small number of shopping visits when our computer vision technology cannot determine an individual's purchase with complete confidence,” a spokesperson said, as quoted by Business Insider. .
The disclosure comes amid Amazon's plans to phase out Just Walk Out technology at Amazon Fresh stores in favor of Dash Carts, The Information reports. These smart shopping carts allow customers to avoid checkout lines by automatically tracking and charging their selections, offering an alternative to the Just Walk Out experience.
An Amazon spokesperson explained the motivation for the move, saying customers wanted additional features to easily find nearby products and sales, see receipts while shopping, and understand savings. , a Business Insider report added to the features Dashcart offers.
Just Walk Out technology first debuted at Amazon Go convenience stores. This allows customers to enter the store by verifying their identity with their Amazon account, pick up their order, return it to the shelf, and leave the store with their final product without having to interact with a cashier. became.
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