Checking Out Checkout Robots
By: Julianna Ladani
Video Produced by Julianna Ladani
Within the past few years all across the globe, technology has been advancing and expanding, most noticed in grocery stores. Technology has been expressed through self-checkout robots and new interactive stocking robots that do the job of many floor employees in a grocery store. There has been much controversy on the topic debating whether these new advancements in technology are taking jobs away and hurting the economy or not and are helping the economy. Though interviewing with different people, had similar outlooks on technology.
ShopRite Floor Employees Joey Squitieri, Christian Lambert, and Anthony Faby express that technology is advancing and is both helping and hurting the economy. They agree that it helps in the aspect that it gets work done easily in less time but that it does take jobs away and creates some complications with the checkout process due to technology errors. The boys share their opinions on what the future holds for checkout robots and technology as a whole.
Joey explains “There are fewer cashiers…People are starting to just go to checkout robots when they need to pay for items”. Now that there are self-checkout stations, there is less of a need for cashiers to check people out.
Christian adds, “Soon checkout robots will be in every store and there probably won’t be any cashiers”. Before we know it, technology will be so great in stores that there won’t be a need for human workers at all. This can be cool to think about but it is mostly scary to think about for many.
Anthony expresses, “Technology is gonna take over”. Soon enough, technology will advance so much that it will probably end up taking over the economy and everyday life things in general.
Technology and checkout robots have made it faster and easier to get people out of stores and allow customers to have a hands-on checkout experience. However, they also bring complications because of technology errors and lessen the need for cashiers and human workers in general, which can further hurt people’s chances of getting a job and making a living. Technology has both good and bad outlooks on life and the economy.
Photo Property of Google Images
Photo Property of Google Images
Photo Property of Supermarket News
Photos property of Google Images
Adolescents vs. Sephora
By Sophia Di Domenico
Throughout the internet a popular controversy has been “Sephora Kids”, where children go into Sephora damaging products, and using products damaging to their skin. Dermatologists have been seeing more and more children using multiple products these children don’t need.
Dermatologist Dr. Brooke Jeffy recalls, “...one patient, around age 11, who developed a severe rash around her eyes from retinol, an ingredient known for anti-aging, which she says the child insisted on using.”1
Many comments have been made on the Sephora website debating this topic, saying things like, “...no respect for personal space and the products we use…” and,” destroying brands and being disrespectful towards employees.” Sephora has not yet responded to anything relating to this issue.
I went around Comsewogue High School asking students their view on this debate, asking: What do you think Sephora should do in response to these pre-teens damaging products and their skin? Many responses spoke of an age limit, having to walk around with an adult, or Sephora prohibited from selling these skin-damaging products to children.
I also asked about their past experiences relating to children in Sephora, many said products being sold out from pre-teens buying them, spilling or damaging products, and rude stares.
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Trepany, Charles. “Sephora kids are mobbing retinol, anti-aging products. Dermatologists say it's a problem”. USA TODAY. Published 8:02 a.m. ET Jan. 26, 2024.
Photo property of Sophia Di Domenico
Photo property of Google images
SAT and APs going online
by Angelica Paulson
This year, the SAT exam is going online for the first time in NY. Many AP exams are going online this and next year as well. With this new change, it is important to factor in how it can affect students' grades, the grading process, the format of the test, and the best ways students can prepare. Comsewogue’s students and teachers all have varying opinions on this new change to standardized testing. To find out more about this issue, I interviewed three students: Simone Puleo, Julianna Ladani, Aidan Bayer; and Mrs. Marsh.
Out of the three students I interviewed, there were varying opinions on the benefits and flaws of the SAT exam going online. Proponents of the online SAT believe it would be easier to study for, while opponents think it could be easier to cheat - making the test less valid. Shockingly, many students are not aware of AP exams going online, Simone stated that she only knew because her English teacher kept reminding her.
Teachers and graders also have a variety of opinions on preparing for, taking, and grading the AP exams going online. Mrs. Marsh, an AP English Language and Composition teacher, shared her opinions on the process of taking the AP Lang exam online, compared to how it had been taken in the past. Along with the difficulties of grading a written piece online, she believes the hours spent looking at a screen during the exam could impact students' performance over time.
All in all, students and teachers all seem to have mixed opinions on this change, but at the end of the day, the only way we will be able to tell is time.
All photo property of google Video produced by Matthew Pyzikiewicz
The Year 2020
By Alexa Kallmeyer
The Coronavirus that struck the United States in 2020 has made a huge impact on high schoolers, some positive and many negative. This pandemic caused many students to become lazy and take advantage of virtual learning. “This has changed my point of view on a lot of things and I learned how to become independent,” said Wanda Reyes. There are many different experiences and life lessons to take from this.
In March 2020, schools were told they were having a “two-week break” to prevent the spread of the virus. Two weeks soon turned into the rest of the school year. This was not an easy transition for students and teachers to go fully virtual so quickly. “I am very impressed with how the teachers handled the online learning and adjusted very fast,” said Mr. Mosca. Not only was this draining to be trapped inside, but also people were not getting any physical activity.
This issue has caused many kids to lack social interaction. "Kids definitely turn to their phones more instead of trying to make a verbal conversation", said Mr. Mosca.
Produced by: Dylan Mcumisky
Photo properties of 'Shutterstock'
Has tipping reached a tipping point?
By: Emily Silva
In the past few years, tipping has become a phenomenon in which everywhere you go you must tip! People everywhere have debated the question of tipping. In the economy we are currently living in, being able to purchase items is hard. Let alone tipping in every tip jar you see.
Whether you're dining at a restaurant, grabbing a coffee, or catching a ride, the expectation to tip seems to follow you everywhere. Yet, as this culture of tipping spreads, so does the debate surrounding its positives and negatives. In an economy where every penny counts, the pressure to tip adds an additional layer of financial strain for many individuals.
Tipping, once a gesture of appreciation for exceptional service, has evolved into an expected norm in many industries. From servers and bartenders to baristas and delivery drivers, workers in the service sector rely heavily on tips to supplement their incomes. The crazy culture of tipping can be attributed to various factors, including societal norms, labor practices, and the rise of the economy. When tipping becomes forceful it loses its meaning and attitude of customers towards people in the service industry.
Many people wonder where they should tip? Many experts say that "Instead, tipping has traditionally been reserved for those in service industries. For many of these workers, tips may make up a significant amount of their income, particularly since federal law only requires employers of tipped workers to pay $2.13 an hour in direct wages."1 Its most appropriate if
AI ART
AI ART
By Meghan Auld
AI art was first developed in the late 1960s by Harold Cohen. It was used to make simple black-and-white images, though it never took off. In the early to mid-2010s, AI art began to be more widespread. While still primitive, it was better than the previous ones.
In 2021, the Dall-E mini was released to the public and became a huge success. It was thought of as something silly and wouldn’t evolve further. As time went on, AI became better and better. Eventually, in 2023, AI was able to create realistic photos. Many people began to use it in malicious ways such as deep-faking political figures into saying stuff that they haven’t said, exploiting women’s bodies for their own pleasure, and making their own artwork.
AI has the potential to completely finish and replicate any artist’s art style. It can take sketches and finish the art in less than minutes. People would watch artists' streams and take the sketches and finish them, claiming the art was their own and the original artist stole their own art. It also has the potential to just straight up make new art using previous artworks. While it sounds good, it has the potential to take artists' jobs, saving money.
Disney, one of the world’s biggest media companies ever, is using AI after laying off 3,000 workers. They used AI for their Thanksgiving 2023 art, yet they got mad when Microsoft opened an AI generator to the public and people began to make their fake Disney movies.
Many artists are also being accused of using AI, when they don’t. Many Twitter threads are made on talented artists pointing out small flaws, making it almost impossible to tell what is AI or what is drawn.
Despite the effects on artists, AI can be a really useful tool for them. Artists can use AI for inspiration. It could generate a picture, combining things the artist wouldn’t think about. With strange pictures, they can use those ideas and make a more refined and better version of the AI inspiration. It can also make backgrounds for artists, speeding up a lot of work.
Aside from the few upsides, AI also has issues with copyright. How much of a piece of generated art is yours and how much is it not? When does it become plagiarism? AI takes from all sorts of artists.
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