Amazon’s first cashier-less supermarket opens to the public in downtown Seattle today - a move that could revolutionise high-street shopping.
Customers are then charged for the items through the Amazon app on their smartphone, which they have to scan on an automated turnstile to enter and exit the store.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"content_full_width","fid":"105719","attributes":{"class":"media-image"}}]]
A combination of “computer vision, machine learning algorithms and sensors” are used to accurately track which items shoppers pick up, says the newpaper. Any products that are put back on shelves are not added to the customer’s bill.
Gianna Puerini, vice president of Amazon Go, says the store worked very well throughout the one-year test phase - when only Amazon employees were allowed to shop there - thanks to four years of prior legwork, reports BBC News. Puerini added: “This technology didn’t exist [until then] - it was really advancing the state of the art of computer vision and machine learning.”
However, The Guardian says there have been claims that the technology did not always work as expected during the trial.
One source told the newspaper that the AI systems had difficulties identifying customers with similar body types, and that children had confused the tracking technology by moving products to different shelves.
Amazon has yet to reveal whether it plans to open more Go stores, either in the US or abroad.
-
Nvidia: unstoppable force, or powering down?Talking Point Sales of firm's AI-powering chips have surged above market expectations –but China is the elephant in the room
-
5 hard-working cartoons about Labor Day celebrationsCartoons Artists take on creation of AI, spelling mistakes, and more
-
Codeword: September 7, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
-
GPT-5: Not quite ready to take over the worldFeature OpenAI rolls back its GPT-5 model after a poorly received launch
-
Deep thoughts: AI shows its math chopsFeature Google's Gemini is the first AI system to win gold at the International Mathematical Olympiad
-
The jobs most at risk from AIThe Explainer Sales and customer services are touted as some of the key jobs that will be replaced by AI
-
Why AI means it's more important than ever to check terms and conditionsIn The Spotlight WeTransfer row over training AI models on user data shines spotlight on dangers of blindly clicking 'Accept'
-
Are AI lovers replacing humans?Talking Points A third of Gen Z singles use tech as a 'romantic companion'
-
Palantir: The all-seeing tech giantFeature Palantir's data-mining tools are used by spies and the military. Are they now being turned on Americans?
-
Grok brings to light wider AI antisemitismIn the Spotlight Google and OpenAI are among the other creators who have faced problems
-
Intellectual property: AI gains at creators' expenseFeature Two federal judges ruled that it is fair use for AI firms to use copyrighted media to train bots
