> "the article also berates self-checkout systems, which everybody I know perceives as a net benefit to their daily lives."

You don't know me, but I want to provide a counter anecdote. My wife and I are both people that see self-checkout as a net negative. The error rate is just too high. They'd be fine if the error rate was low enough so that delays or required assistance was rare. It's not rare.

The best shopping experience is when there are plenty of human cashiers and plenty of lines open.