point of order: graeber would have distinguished cashiers as being a "shit job" rather than a "bullshit job"
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indeed; anyway i am on board with your point that self checkout is an externality generation move
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the ui the cashier gets is one that is effectively for an expert; they have to be trained to use it (and develop muscle memory), whereas the self-checkout machines are simultaneously nerfed for perpetual n00bs and fortified against theft, making them inherently less efficient
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so in a way you could imagine the cashier-cum-self-checkout-attendant being themselves frustrated to have to help frustrated people limp through those things when they erstwhile could have just done it for them using a professional rig
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10 cashier jobs at $15/hr replaced by 1 attendant job at $20/hr, 0.1 maintenance-guy job at $50/hr, 0.001 automation designer job at $100/hr. Plus a bunch of unpaid shadow labor by customers (1000 jobs at $5/hour, paid in kind via lower prices)
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Labor’s share of return from capital goes from $15x10=$150/hr to $20+0.1*$50+0.001*$100 = $25.10. Capital’s share goes up by $125/h initially but then competition passes on the bulk of it to the shadow-laboring consumers via lower prices so capital gets $10/h more in steady state
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Note that to your point, expert UI implies a cheaper machine. The self-checkout machines are consumer-grade machines and cost more in non-recurring engineering costs to build. Their TCO is also higher because maintenance higher than cash registers. But still lower than humans.

