>But the checker can smile at me. Or whine with me about the weather.

It's some poor miserable soul sitting at that checkout line 9-to-5 brainlessly scanning products, that's their whole existence. And you don't want this miserable drudgery to be put to end - to be automated away, because you mistake some sad soul being cordial and eeking out a smile (part of their job really) - as some sort of "human connection" that you so sorely lack.

Sounds like you only care about yourself more than anything.

There is zero empathy and there is NOTHING humanist about your world-view.

Non-automated checkout lines are deeply depressing, these people slave away their lifes for basically nothing.

You sound obsessed with being miserable. Touch grass.

OMG are you this out of touch with reality? Do you think they have a choice?

You think those people won't need to enslave themselves somewhere else if the checkout line is automated? Asking for your job to be automated in a capitalist economy is putting the cart before the horse.

> It's some poor miserable soul sitting at that checkout line 9-to-5 brainlessly scanning products, that's their whole existence.

You're right, they should unionize for better working conditions.