[whyileft]

> Or they are in a hurry. I will take the faster option every time and that usually means no human.

Correct, but this is the result of the store intentionally routing you through the self checkout by under staffing cashiers to save money.

>What if there was no work to do? Amazon is exploring that concept and if it works as described (I haven't used it yet, but have walked by and it seems to) seems objectively better in every way.

Excellent point. I should have used "self service" instead of "automation". It was a poor choice of words on my part. Full automation to remove anyone from needing to do the work would certainly be objectively better. The article linked is more about self service than automation.