Had a guy at the dog park lecture me about job automation

Last Saturday I'm at the dog park in Arlington with my golden, and this dude starts ranting about how AI is coming for my grooming job. He said something like "you do realize there's already a robot that can wash and trim a poodle in 15 minutes." I laughed because I've seen those machines. They're garbage. One size fits all clippers that leave matted dogs in pain. I saw a video where a robo-groomer nicked a dogs ear and the owner didn't notice until they got home. This guy never worked with a scared rescue or a dog with arthritis. He saw a YouTube demo and thought that's the whole story. Has anyone in this field actually lost work to one of those machines?

3 comments

3 Comments

laura_wright12d ago

I've actually seen those machines work at a mall kiosk in Dallas and the owner was raving about it... her yorkiepoo looked fine to me honestly. Yeah they can't handle a terrified rescue, but most people with calm older dogs who just need a bath and a trim? The machine does it in like 10 minutes for 20 bucks. That's way cheaper than my usual 45 dollar grooming fee and no waiting around. Plus the machine stops moving the second the dog pulls away so there's no chance of nicking an ear like a tired human might do at 4pm on a Saturday.

thea_mitchell2012d ago

And then that guy probably thinks a robot can handle the terrified Great Dane who hasn't been groomed in six months, right? Those machines can't read body language or know when to stop and let a dog catch its breath, which is half the job. It's like saying a Roomba replaces a housecleaner, sure it moves stuff around but it doesn't really clean the corners.

ryanh5612d ago

Well hold on, isn't that kinda like saying a GPS can't replace a map just because it can't tell you about the good coffee shops along the way? A robot groomer could probably handle the basic cuts and baths way faster than a human, and for a dog that's totally calm and used to it, what's the downside? And hey, if the machine stops the second the dog gets antsy, isn't that actually better than a person who might not notice?