From: Man@the.keyboard   
      
   On Wed, 10 Dec 2025 21:26:36 GMT, Charlie Gibbs   
    wrote:   
      
   >On 2025-12-10, Daniel70  wrote:   
   >   
   >> On 10/12/2025 2:26 pm, c186282 wrote:   
   >>   
   >>> And if you really want to get arrested, use "automated self-checkout"   
   >>> :-)   
   >>   
   >> Hate them!! Hate them! Hate them. I'll stand in line at a staffed   
   >> Check-Out (if there is one) rather than use those Auto-mated Check-Outs.   
   >   
   >Ditto.  The last thing I need is to have some damned machine nattering   
   >at me about how I should be putting my bag in the right place, and   
   >holding my tongue correctly as I scan products in the direction of   
   >corporate Mecca.   
   >   
   >> The way I figure it, the Supermarket has already added the 'Staffing   
   >> Costs' into the price of the things I buy, so I might as well make use   
   >> of the Staff that I'm paying for.   
   >   
   >Besides, it gives kids jobs.  And when things are quiet it's nice to   
   >be able to chat with the staff.  Much friendlier than a machine.   
      
    Not if you are me. I'm short. fattish (I've been eating less for a   
   while and have slimmed a lot), old, hairy and generally ugly. The   
   tall, young, rich-looking, attractive male in front of me gets a   
   lengthy conversation while the girly slowly and gently moves his   
   goodies under her scanner. *I* get "WannabagNeedareseet?" after she   
   has chucked my stuff along at warp speed so she gets me out of her   
   life faster. Every time.   
      
    Hell, the checkout-girls would far rather chat with the couponed-up   
   Crumblies about their many, many disgusting operations than with me.   
   They even slow down for the wimmin-with-pennies then practice   
   hammer-throwing with my stuff.   
      
    The machinery, I have found, is totally democratic. It does not give   
   a flying fuck how ugly I am. Ms. Robot treats me the same way she   
   treats the tall, sporty, shorts-and-tee-shirt-wearing youths. She   
   utterly ignores me.   
      
    That is *refreshing*.   
      
    And, yes, I do thank her. I thank anyone and anything that isn't   
   massively rude to me. Even dogs. :)   
      
    The robot-girl checkouts are vaguely like the Robots of the SF   
   stories of Dr. Isaac Asimov. Those guys will protect and obey a Human.   
   *any* Human. *Every* Human. They don't care who nor what you are, to   
   them, you are a person.   
      
    Even if you are repulsive, repugnant and repellant such as me.   
      
    I know it is not love, nor even affection, but it's the closest I   
   will ever get to friendliness while shopping.   
      
    I do agree about the jobs, though. Manned checkouts also give   
   Crumblies and Crinklies little jobs that get them out of the house so   
   they can sneeze on everyone to generously give us SARS. So that's   
   nice, too, :).   
      
    One drawback to the robots: they have massive stacks of   
   facial-recognition and A.I. software but they still can't tell that   
   I'm over 18 and thereby allowed to buy beers and energy drinks. We   
   still, after decades of their deployment, need to wait for one of the   
   busy children to log in to tell it that we're old. That is stupid,   
   time-wasting and irritating.   
      
    If A.I. and F-R can pick us out of a crowd on a street for the cops   
   to arrest us, surely differentiating a Crumbly from Sporty-guy   
   shouldn't be beyond it?   
      
    That way, they would need even fewer human employees.   
      
    Yes, there would be edge cases with Sporty-guy and Hot-But-Legal-Girl   
   but that's just their own fault for looking to be rich, young and   
   pretty. :)   
      
                                                           J.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)