We were promised The Jetsons, but we’re living like the Flintstones — powering the car with our own feet while paying a convenience fee Press enter or click to view image in full size Image created using Gemini AI Try asking a store manager for a “self-service discount” after you’ve spent twenty minutes scanning your own groceries and wrestling with a finicky bagging scale. You’ll get a look that suggests you’ve just asked for the keys to the vault. Yet, is this really such a strange request after servicing, checking out, and bagging yourself? The store no longer employs the cashier, so where are my savings? How about your local fast-food burger joint? I recently walked into a local burger joint and was immediately confronted by a towering, glowing monolith — a self-ordering kiosk that seemed less interested in feeding me and more interested in a deposition. What followed was a digital interrogation. I wasn’t just ordering a burger; I was performing high-stakes data entry.…