--- title: "People Are Refusing to Use Self-Checkout Because It’ll “Kill Jobs”" description: "These shoppers are refusing to use self-checkout lines because they're worried they'll lead to job loss — and because machines don't pay taxes." date: "2018-12-09" modified: "2018-12-10" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/people-refusing-self-checkout-kill-jobs" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "Amazon" - "job loss" - "self-checkout" - "walmart" --- # People Are Refusing to Use Self-Checkout Because It’ll “Kill Jobs” ![]() *\Image: Fancycrave.com\* ## Fighting The Tide A [new story]() by the *Canadian Broadcasting Corporation* looks at a group of people who are fighting the future: shoppers who refuse to use self-checkout lines because they're worried they'll lead to job loss. "They're trying to basically herd everyone in, get everyone used to the self-checkouts to continuously cut down on staff," said Dan Morris, one of the people the public broadcaster interviewed. "Machines don't pay taxes, they don't pay into the pension plan." ## Doing Lines *CBC*'s reporting comes during a precipitous era for retail automation. Online sellers like Amazon have come to [dominate consumer commerce]() over the past two decades, and some companies that have attained mastery in that space — including [Amazon]() and [Walmart]() — are now turning their attention back to the real world, where they're working to use sensors and artificial intelligence to open stores that have no cashiers at all. Whether that's a future consumers want is a more complex question. *CBC*'s story about self-checkout abstainers was inspired by a [study from last week]() that found that only 11 percent of Canadian shoppers use self-checkout regularly. And that's without getting into theft from self-checkout systems, a topic the *Atlantic* [explored in depth]() earlier this year. ## Meme Left The *CBC* pointed to a [Facebook meme]() that's racked up hundreds of thousands of shares with the admonition to "never use a self checkout" because they "kill jobs" — and, as Morris pointed out, they don't contribute to payroll taxes. It's tough to argue with that logic, but [history has shown]() that many consumer boycott campaigns sputter. Perhaps the buyers avoiding self-checkout, more than seeking systemic change, are just trying to navigate an increasingly complex world of interconnected personal choices. "Maybe the little bit we do makes no difference at all," said Peggy Eburne, another shopper the *CBC* talked to. "But we like to stand by what we believe in." **READ MORE:** ['They kill jobs': Meet Canadians who refuse to use self-checkout]() \[*Canadian Broadcasting Corporation*\] ***More on jobs of the future:*** [Here Are the Jobs of the Future That Robots Won't Be Able to Fill]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()