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At the new self-checkout in my town's grocery store, the camera tried to guess my age and got it wrong by 15 years.
I was buying a six-pack of soda, and the screen flashed 'Age verification needed' before showing a box that said 'Estimated age: 52'. I'm 37. It made me wonder how often these systems get it wrong for real age-restricted items, and who's responsible if they do. Has anyone else had a weird run-in with automated age checks?
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casey161mo ago
Imagine the legal mess if it denies a legit sale.
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patricia6851mo ago
That's just the tip of the iceberg with this stuff. These automated systems are creeping into everything now. Saw a pharmacy kiosk reject a valid ID scan last week. Feels like companies are pushing the cost and risk onto us, the customers. When the machine gets it wrong, you're the one stuck waiting for an override. Makes you miss a real human cashier who can just look at you.
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iris5741mo ago
Down at the grocery store self-checkout last week, the machine kept yelling at me for putting my reusable bag in the bagging area before I scanned anything. A real human would've just said "go ahead" or maybe even helped bag things. Now I'm standing there like a fool while the screen flashes red and the one employee watching six stations has to come over and tap a code in. My sister-in-law works for a company that makes these kiosks and she says they're designed to cut down on theft but also cut down on the number of employees they have to pay. So you end up with a system that's less forgiving than a grumpy cashier on a bad day.
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