Experts say minimum wage increase could lead to more artificial intelligence

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - Experts say that if minimum wage were to increase rapidly, there’s a good chance many big box stores will choose to invest in technology to cut costs.

Economy Professor Ryan Jockers says this is something we see already happening. However, at the moment artificial intelligence is predominantly used on the back end in places like warehouses.

However, he says if the cost to keep labor goes up, employers might opt to replace them with public-facing A.I.

“A really good example is going to be automated cashiers at grocery stores. Those are more and more available and happening more and more. Now, for example, when you go to Walmart in Mandan, you have a whole half of the check out being taken up by automated registers,” Jockers said.

Jockers says machines can replace multiple people which would significantly decrease labor costs over time.