Without the constant accessibility of technology, where would society be today? Amazon, an American electronic commerce and cloud computing company, has majorly contributed to the technological advancements that has helped shape modern America. By 2021, Amazon plans to open up 3,000 Amazon Go stores across the nation.

Functioning through a mobile app, an Amazon Go store is a  checkout-free store that offers the “Just Walk Out” concept where customers can enter via app, select the desired items, and leave with the receipt digitally sent to them. Inside the store, the main products sold are readily accessible food and beverages. Ranging from breakfast, lunch, dinner, and basic groceries, the store offers daily made meals. Non-food items, however, are also sold, according to Super Market News.

With a modern and aesthetic look, it’s hard not to be intrigued by such a drastic change in regular grocery shopping. Because the store has no checkouts, there are no cashiers, meaning there are less workers. Other than the few security men who patrol around the store and the workers who restock the shelves, the highly developed, abundant amount of cameras to the make theft rare and uncommon.

These new innovative stores are stirring controversy amongst the upcoming generation, however. This is primarily because job opportunities would rapidly become scarce. At a young age, teenagers like to venture into the world of work by starting with a simple job, such as a cashier at a local grocery store. When asked about the possible consequences technology may have on workers, Cheryl Pham (12) admits that employees being replaced by technological advancements “isn’t harmful” due to the “new job opportunities that have opened up.” Still, because America is “seeing an unprecedented rate of innovation,” unemployment rates will likely decrease “from its standard of 4-6%.”

Along with reduced jobs, simple human interactions would greatly decline. Will Fixa (11) understands the benefits of Amazon Go stores but believes that stores offer  “great opportunities for people to interact in their communities.” No amount of technological gains can provide “social interactions people need in their lives everyday.”

At the end of the day, Amazon Go stores have pros and cons that are attached to their existence. Is it worth the risk of the decline of jobs and human interactions to profit off the rapid speed in grocery shopping? Will technology continue to take over and consume society? There are no guaranteed answers, but if society maintains the adaptation to modern advancements, the eventual generation will face a major dilemma.