- Emily Drayton, Staff Writer
Check Yourself Out!
Today's post is about a new automated kiosk brand that promises to save dispensary shoppers time in line and save dispensary owners a few bucks off the bottom line. From Green Entrepreneur:
THE SCOOP
The story is about a self-checkout kiosk called the Cocoon that provides an “expedited experience” for repeat customers, “no different than what they would see at the supermarket or McDonald’s.”
The company claims these regular customers, who would likely communicate their order to the store before visiting, can be in and out in 5 minutes.
Cocoon costs $13,000. Installation is about $1,000 … maintenance fee… of about another grand a year.
“It is “heavy-duty, like what you would find at a bank or a casino. It is bolted into the ground with six-inch bolts.”
So for $15 Grand and change, a dispensary owner gets convenience for some, safety against the smash and grab.
THE DEEP DIVE
Reading the article further and uh oh… here’s a quiet part out loud: “It acts as an employee that never sleeps, never has a day off and is always available… our kiosk is equal to two employees at minimum…”
Gee willickers, Wally, who gets f*cked in this scenario?
Don’t be a nimrod, Beav, two dispensary workers at every single store where a Cocoon is bolted to the floor.
And their families, and their communities, and you too, Uncle Charlie.
Here’s why:
Two employees get two paychecks. Five dispensaries in town? At least 10 paychecks GONE. Tens of thousands of dollars every month NOT spent in every one of those communities.
The machine doesn’t pay income taxes, which fund roads, schools, and police.
And Cocoon is headquartered in Las Vegas, so even the $15 Grand is gone too.
(All of these things would be true for any kiosk or robotic time saver in dispensaries, by the way.)
THE LOOP BACK
All of this might make you mad, but now it’s time to get SCARED.
Quote from Cocoon: “Our kiosk is outfitted with an ID scanner…to age-verify the individual making a purchase…”
(Hint: Bad guys don’t bust in the front door and steal CASH these days, they sneak in online and STEAL DATA.)
I have questions about this ID Scanner?
What happens to your data?
Is it stored in the machine?
Could someone insert a USB-drive and say thank you very much?
Who gives a sh*t about 6-inch bolts if the data gets hacked?
Or is your data sent offsite?
To Las Vegas?
To law enforcement?
I don’t think you’re not scared enough yet. Well hike up your Depends because there's more
“…We also use this to verify that the individual making the purchase is the same individual receiving the product…”
People, this is technology-speak for FACIAL RECOGNITION SOFTWARE.
First of all, no mention of taking your facial data without your permission
...nor about who would have it,
... nor whether it might get sent somewhere....
WORST CASE: your facial structure (and maybe your retina, it’s not clear in the story) is the most precious personal identity factor you have. Like Visa says, It’s PRICELESS.
If the bad guys hack a third-party machine in a dispensary, your most precious data will be in Serbia by supper time.
There’s no way to compensate for that.
IMAGE: "The secret rise of robotics and AI stocks" (https://insights.roboglobal.com/the-secret-rise-of-robotics-and-ai-stocks)