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Amazon PR accidentally confirms the existence of a fictional dystopian Amazon technology
The New York Times has been publishing a series of "Op-Eds From The Future," giving fiction writers a chance to imagine our hellish circumstances to come.
In October, former Vice/Terraform editor Brian Merchant wrote one called "Amazons First Fully Automated Factory Is Anything But," that's reminiscent of early Phillip K. Dick short storiesthe ones where a remarkable advancement in technology frustrates the befuddled humans left in its wake, resulting in a sort of mundane dystopia (think "Autofac").
Merchant's short story focuses on Amazon's new "human-free fulfillment centers," complete with a glorious(ly fictionalized) Jeff Bezos presentation. Of course, even fully automated facilities will still require some human labor, even if it's just maintenance for the machines, so the story is narrated by one of those weary flesh-and-blood workers. Not-so-surprising spoilers: the fictional future working conditions for Amazon contractors are just as hellish as they are now.
But here's where it getsreally interesting: Blake Montgomery, a tech reporter fromThe Daily Beast, reached out to Amazon for a comment on their "human-free fulfillment centers." And the company actually responded:
I asked Amazon for comment on Brians fictional op-ed about the company just to see if it would respond. It did! We consistently pilot new technologies with the goal of increasing safety, speeding up delivery times, and adding efficiencies within our network. https://t.co/kDBFhccYsQ pic.twitter.com/HCFxFvePhh
— Blake Montgomery (@blakersdozen) November 6, 2019
Read the restThanks for reaching out! We consistently pilot new technologies with the goal of increasing safety, speeding up delivery times, and adding efficiencies within our network.
Original Link: http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/Zlle9mDidS8/amazon-pr-accidentally-confirm.html