Mark Carney says robot revolution will ‘mercilessly’ kill MILLIONS of jobs as Amazon opens cashier-free shop
Bank of England boss fears technological revolution could put up to 15 million Brits on the dole queue
AMAZON has embarked on a retail experiment which could result in the disappearance of the British cornershop and the loss of millions of jobs.
Yesterday, it celebrated the opening of a convenience store called Amazon Go which replaces human workers with machines.
Sensors at the Seattle store work out which items customers have picked up, before automatically adding the bill to their Amazon account.
This might seem attractive to anyone who's sick of queuing up at supermarkets, but it is terrifying to
Last night, Bank of England boss Mark Carney said the technological revolution is set to "mercilessly" kill British jobs.
He said "stateless" corporations would get all the benefits of the billions generated by the robotics revolution, whilst up to 15 million Brits are consigned to the dole queue.
In a speech delivered at John Moores University in Liverpool yesterday, Carney said: "Up to 15 million of the current jobs in Britain could be automated over time.
"The fundamental challenge is that, alongside its great benefits, every technological revolution mercilessly destroys jobs and livelihoods – and therefore identities – well before the new ones emerge.
"This was true of the eclipse of agriculture and cottage industry by the industrial revolution, the displacement of manufacturing by the service economy, and now the hollowing out of many of those middle-class services jobs through machine learning and global sourcing."
Carney also called on foreign firms to pay a fair amount of tax.
He added: "Redistribution and fairness also means turning back the tide of stateless corporations. As the Prime Minister recently stressed, companies must be rooted and pay tax somewhere: businesses operating across borders 'have responsibilities … in terms, for example, of payment of tax.'
"They must recognise “the role that they play in local communities and the responsibilities that they have in any country they are operating in to abide by the rules.”
Amazon Go is currently available only for its employees but is expected to be publicly available early next year, the company said on Monday.
Apart from groceries such as bread and milk, the store also offers ready-to-eat breakfasts, lunches and dinners made fresh by on-site chefs and local kitchens and bakeries.
"Amazon Go is a new kind of store with no checkout required," Amazon wrote.
Related Stories
"We created the world’s most advanced shopping technology so you never have to wait in line.
"With our Just Walk Out Shopping experience, simply use the Amazon Go app to enter the store, take the products you want, and go! No lines, no checkout."
The store is located at 2131 7th Ave, Seattle, on the corner of 7th Avenue and Blanchard Street.
Non-Amazon employees will be able to start using it at some point in early 2017.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368