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The Self-Checkout Has Asked Me to Be More Honest

The Self-Checkout Has Asked Me to Be More Honest

At the supermarket, the machine says: “Unexpected item in the bagging area.”

Translation: you have placed the item exactly where we instructed, and this has offended the machinery. A staff member arrives, taps the screen with the weary authority of someone settling a family dispute, and releases the avocado.

[Footnote: the future is automated, but still requires a witness.]

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