So I walked into Walmart late one night.

Making my way towards the snacks, I immediately notice ‘self checkout’ is closed. That means I’m gonna have to wait in a massive line. My morale instantly deflates a little. As I’m closing in on the aisle, there is this machine. It cleans and apparently polishes the floors throughout the store (on its own). Naturally, I break out my trusty camera and you know the rest.

After getting the grub… while driving to our meditation spot and in conversation with my lady friend, what I just saw put me in deep thought. We get there and the conversation focuses on how the future we used to watch on television is what we are living in today. We used to see robots and machines taking over and replacing humans in a variety of scenarios.

But in this timeline, simply going to Walmart was spooky as hell.

As we can see: 

1. ‘Self checkout’ removes the need of a cashier and I actually like being able to move at my own pace. Plus, not having to deal with people that don’t wanna work (there) is fantastic!

2. The ‘cleaning machine’ removes the need for sweepers, moppers and buffers. Not a good look for them.

One can only imagine what other technologies Walmart is using over there?

I heard they have “Enemy of the State” level cameras with resolution capable of reading text on a phone (from far away).

Tesla has already deployed and still developing humanoid robots named “Optimus”. These units can be used in a multitude of applications for industrial and home use. As of press time, the bots are in factories overseeing quality control, sorting materials, handling battery cells and performing tasks the are considered dangerous to humans. They’re said to have a 150 pound deadlift capacity.

Future versions will include packaging, moving heavy objects, mining, construction, household chores, baby sitting children, teaching, providing companionship and attending to the elderly. Those are just some of it’s uses! If that’s what we already know, what don’t we know?

With the advent of artificial intelligence and machine learning, it’s safe to assume that this is only the beginning of an interactive and inclusive future between humans and machines.

Kind of like Transformers or Terminator…

Can a machine replace you (at work)?

If so, maybe it might be a good idea to start assuming the position of becoming more of an asset and familiarize yourself with future technologies.

Do you have the ability to seamlessly transition into the next paradigm? If not… Houston, you have a problem.

Luckily, I just revealed a possible solution but…

The possibilities are endless! Good and Bad.