Japanese supermarket expands its capabilities the functional capabilities that AI is being put into practice in the workplace, as the AEON network has hired software to monitor that the attitude of its employees is of a common standard.
The program, called “Mr Smile,” was developed by Japanese tech company InstaVR and is said to be able to accurately assess the customer service attitude of store clerks.
On July 1, a Japanese supermarket announced it had become the first company in the world to market an artificial intelligence system for measuring smiles, which it uses in its 240 stores across the country.
The system is based on more than 450 elements, including facial expressions, voice volume and greeting tone.
It was also designed with ‘gamifying’ elements that challenge employees to improve their attitude by challenging their results.
AEON said it tested the system in eight stores employing about 3,400 staff and found that service attitudes improved by 1.6 times over a three-month period.
The company said its goal was to “standardize employee smiles and maximize customer satisfaction.”
However, comments from some service industry users in Japan regarding this particular situation and others have drawn mixed reactions.
“When service workers are forced to smile according to a ‘standard’, I feel like it’s another form of customer harassment,” said one respondent.
“People are different and they express their feelings in different ways. Using a machine to ‘standardize’ people’s attitudes sounds cold and stupid,” said a third.
Source: Digital Trends
I am Garth Carter and I work at Gadget Onus. I have specialized in writing for the Hot News section, focusing on topics that are trending and highly relevant to readers. My passion is to present news stories accurately, in an engaging manner that captures the attention of my audience.
