Computer, hamburgers and fries please.

-


Labour Day 2024 was on 2 September. Workers are fewer than they were five years ago because of a variety of factors. Computers are one of the reasons why people lose their jobs.

I saw a reminder of that at the mall a few days ago. A chicken place has followed what the hamburger chain did about two years back. Which is?  You place your order on a computer installed on the wall. It takes longer than ordering from a human being, because the computer needs concentration. Read, comprehend then order. There’s also a lot of driving around, pressing NEXT and arrows, up or down. This concentration makes the young person behind you irritable because he or she doesn’t understand why you are taking so long. Young people and computers are like seals in the water.

This chicken place has always had one worker behind the counter. Therefore, I cannot accuse the computer for triggering job losses.  If more food places at the mall install computers, more workers will be laid off.  What kind of Labour Day will the world have in 20 years time when every service job is automated? This very mall had a machine that mopped the floor. I dived into a store when I saw it coming towards me just before 2020, the pandemic year.

In fact, the question I should be asking is: are we willing to go back to working the land, to farming? Because in 20 years time, it will be only job left standing. The computer does not like to have its hands dirty.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Blogger Without Borders

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elections And Political Bullies

-
Image
Forget democracy.   It should be called political bullying. We are watching it in the prelude to the Canadian election on the 19 th of October, 2015.   Americans have also started their political bullying for the looming presidential election next year. So many trees wasted on books about democracy.   Some countries have big budgets for invading other countries ‘ to defend democracy’ but it is seldom practised in campaigning for elections.   Calling opponents names and printing flyers attacking each other is behaviour that will not be tolerated in kindergarten, but it is all legal, in campaigning.   It is irritating and such a let-down to the whole notion of democracy.   Grown-up men and women behaving like Grade One kids. It is also misleading because many voters believe it is real hatred.   Don’t let that fool you.   These politicians play golf together, attend the same dinner parties, eat and drink at the same social events, share jokes and cut deals in parliament.   They
Read more

Comfort Food As Regret Food

-
Image
Chicken curry. Comfort food is good for the soul, which usually bleeds in winter from icy roads, bad drivers that want to annihilate pedestrians, frozen fingers and toes that take a sabbatical.   What happened to my toes?   I thought I was wearing special socks for boots? We therefore have a right to comfort food which throws doctors’ orders out of the window and has no loyalty to calories.   No calculator on the table, thanks very much.   Piece of bread 5 calories, half a banana 10 calories, sugar-free cheesecake 2,000 calories.   Ah! Ah!  We only live once. Naw!   Comfort food is old school food with its compulsory second helping.   It involves licking fingers and giving a big sigh, about the good life, which is shelter, food, love and debt.   The problem is the zip.   The jeans remind you that comfort food can also be called you will regret food .   Home sweet home is even sweeter in winter after surviving blowing snow and bumper to bumper traffic. What is more welcoming th
Read more

No Air Miles

-
Image
I don’t have Air Miles.   I’m considering putting that on a T-Shirt because I cannot go to the drugstore (chemist) or coffee shop without the cashier asking me if I have air miles. We waited for about two minutes the other day, while this guy looked for his Air Miles card in his overweight wallet.   For what?   For a few points. I don’t have air miles because Mathematics is a foreign language.   I was never good in numbers. That is why I squashed the idea of being an investment banker very early in life.   I understand you can invest in cornfields before the soil is turned up or pork bellies even before a baby pig is born. That is how I view air miles, investing in tomorrow or the unknown.   I’m the dumb one.   Some people understand this air miles’ thing so well, I overheard one customer saying: I can even convert my points into cash. Points and air miles are the same thing in Canada and the U.S.   Drugstores or clothing stores even give you a card to collect point
Read more