Creepy robots have arrived at your NJ supermarkets (Opinion)

Some of you may have already been introduced to Marty, the new robot system that finally brings artificial intelligence to your local grocery store. After a pilot program, Marty is being rolled out in giant, martins and stop n shop stores near you. There’s good news and bad news about Marty: the good news is Marty works for a long hours with no pay, doesn’t ever have an “I hate my job!” attitude and is just as energetic at 6 AM as he is at 6 PM. He can detect problems in the store like debris, spilled items, and other potential hazards to presumably improve your shopping experience. He doesn’t just sit there greeting you as you walk in.

Marty actually moves around the store unassisted, scanning the floors for spills and trip hazards, which are reported to human workers by making a beeping noise and communicating to employees after paging them. He also has the ability to scan shelves for missing items, do price checks and much more. Here’s the bad news: Marty looks weird and is unnerving. He's google eyed, seems to follow you around, and is very —well—robotic. Time will tell whether or not Marty is a success. Maybe because it’s one of our first experiences with robotic technology and we’re just not used to it, Marty will probably scare the crap out of you the first time you see him.

The future is here, ladies and gentlemen. And it’s pretty freaking creepy.

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