Those still a thing? I mean, I know they are, but around me the 3 major supermarkets within walking distance got rid of them and of the two nearby CVS, the 24 hour one runs them overnight (as far as I can tell) as a security measure so there's no cash register to rob, but not otherwise. Other local drug stores seem to have mostly if not entirely phased them out.
Anyway, I know they still exist, but I do think our robot future is not quite as inevitable as people think. Worrying about the impact of future automation on jobs seems to be a cool tech away of ignoring the current fucked and bullshit jobs situation. And, yes, automation has been going on for decades, which is actually my point. There's nothing new about it, and I don't know why people think there will be this sudden automation discontinuity. The robots have been here for awhile, and they aren't really going away, but that doesn't mean the sci-fi dystopian workless future is just around the corner. Shit is fucked up and bullshit enough without worrying about things which haven't happened yet, and likely won't.
