That isn’t kafkaesque, that’s just authoritarian.
This will ultimately be the death of retail stores.
Half the reason anyone wants to go to a store in 2026 is to have a good time shopping in person. If going to the store leads to any chance of a shitty experience? Fuck it dude, I’ll just order online like everyone else I suppose.
These days, stores are for last minute purchases. If I think of something I need, I order it, and then wait for it to show up. I’m not interested in wandering around Walmart.
I guess the stock boys and cashiers could just be like the olden groceries, where you bring your list and they fill it? Or, I guess more layoffs?
Walmart already does this with pick up orders I see as many Walmart employees with carts running around as I do regular customers.
https://www.londonsecuritycollege.co.uk/wrongly-accused-of-stealing/
Sounds like they have a case.
The world would be dramatically better if about 10,000 specific people died
It’s so weird how little it takes to ruin a society
They were propped up by like 50 million lesser evils, looking after their own interests.
Yes, they are a power of their own now.
But still…
More will replace those fucks. The system is flawed.
It would be a lot easier to address those flaws in their absence.
Self Checkouts are not even self checkout anymore. You go up and scan your stuff then 2 times out of 3 someone has to come over and approve that you scanned everything. At that point just open the normal lanes back up
opening more lanes very obviously makes things better for customers but that’s not even remotely the goal. self-checkout lets them slash their labor costs and give out more executive bonuses by just paying one employee to manage the entire self-checkout section. they wouldn’t get to keep that money if they opened up more lanes and paid an employee per lane. so now every store has 20 lanes with at most three lanes open, and only if it’s really slammed.
I literally stopped shopping at Kroger over this. If you’re gonna accuse me of stealing every third item I scan because I use a reusable shopping bag instead of the single-use plastic ones, you aren’t getting my business.
I think the only one more over it than me was the poor associate who had to keep signing in to watch videos of me scanning stuff.
Sorry Mr Ed, won’t happen again sir. Please do not Gatling Gun me.
It’s so annoying. I’ll scan something big and the computer is OUT LOUD saying at me “BAG YOUR ITEM” like NO! I DONT WANT TO!
The grocery store nearest my house (QFC, a slightly nicer Kroger-owned regional chain) has tiny trays for the bagging area. Anything more bulky than a gallon of milk and a bag of apples turns into a weird game of Jenga.
And the supermarket systems still don’t get right the prices for fruits. Which means you have to call another employee to enter the price for you.
I’ve walked out of Walmart before over wrong prices. I was just there to look at the camping section and see if they had any deals. There was a cooler on sale for 10$. I go scan it. 30$. I just left it there at the self checkout and went home.
9 times out of 10 if you ask the attendant for help they’ll honor the price if there was a signage error.
I know but it’s walmart. The attendant is handling 30+ self checkouts and I’m not waiting 10 minutes.
What is wild about all this is looking back to the old social contract and how it basically made this
fobittedforbidden.The best example is the movie minority report in which the had a fool proof way to 100% of the time predict the future.
I won’t spoil the movie, but the whole premise was that even if there was one instance of it making a mistake, and a innocent person was put on ice by mistake, then the whole thing had to be shut down.
And in today’s reality: all of big tech’s new tools make mistakes constantly, sometimes more than getting things right, and it’s still full steam ahead on the rollout.
MFW dystopia movies were too optimistic
I mean, even in that one case, it was accurate, just not in the way they thought.
kill the fuckers in charge or you’re rolling the
dicechamber every day.Same can be said for the death penalty, but the GOP and even a lot of Democrats are for it. Even though they’re are actual past cases of killing innocent people.
fobitted
I’m sure this is a typo of some kind, but I can’t for the life of me work out what it was.“Predicted”? “Foretold”? I’m sure I’m being dense and just missing something obvious, but I’d love to hear what.
You write just one book about a labyrinthine bureacracy and people use your name to curse organisational dysfunction forever.
A situations like this makes me use a form of Malapropism one would expect of a Dickensian society to bring about almost Orwellian situation. Makes you wonder when someone will use Chekhov’s Gun before it all gets Bowdlerized. Alas this Machiavellian paragraph is reminiscent of a Lovecraftian creature.
But seriously, that paragraph above reads like the scene in Blackadder when they meet the writer of the Dictionary.
Poor Machiavelli too. Everyone goes on about how he faked his death and “dark triad” traits, and he was just some bloke taking the piss out of the government.
I think that guy might have been trolling. He was imprisoned by the Medici family, amd then ended up writing a book to give advice to the princes? I think it could have been intentionally bad advice, especially after reading Sun Tsu.
I’m actually wandering if what he wrote in his book wasn’t exactly what the Prince already did.
Because that sounds just like the greatest way to arse kiss a powerful person without being too crude and obvious, in order to get yourself a rich patron.
“As the Prince you’ve got to know when to hold ‘em. Know even to fold ‘em. Know when to walk away and know when to run.”
What would Machiavelli do? is a fine continuation of that energy.
If he was here today? I’m sure he’d kick an ass or two - that’s what Machiavelli would do!
Kafkaesque nightmares
I gotta read something besides The Metamorphasis because all I associate with that phrase is physical body horror of becoming a bug. Somehow I don’t think that’s what they meant here.
Kafka was most famous for pointing out that our current society is built on bureaucracy unto death. For instance how he have to fill out insurance forms while dying of cancer.
Kafka has written other stories, the author might have had The Trial (Der Process) in mind.
Pick something other than The Castle, especially if you’ve ever worked for any government.
Unless you want to know why Curtis Yarvin is wrong about monarchies being more efficient, then by all means…
The AI gets to accuse you based on a bad guess, while you have to file paperwork and surrender more personal data to prove you didn’t steal a pack of vitamins. »Innocent until proven guilty« is now a premium feature.
Innocent until proven guilty was always the highest tier wealthy only premium. Everyone else is expected to plea bargain down to a crime they didn’t commit.
if you’re a billionaire you can be proven guilty and still be considered innocent
A false accusation of theft is literally Libel.
So anybody rich enough or who is a Lawyer or Judge can easilly take them to Court for it and win compensation.
As with most nasty things, it’s only done to the riff-raff, not the upper-middle and upper class.
A false accusation of theft is literally Libel
Not if it’s only to you. Defamation happens when an accusation is published such that it could damage your reputation.
True. If nobody else is told about it it’s not Libel.
So they would have to stop that person not in public or very very discretely, only one person could be involved from their side (otherwise somebody would be telling somebody else) and the person stopped could simply refuse and walk away because if they called the authorities by telling them that person had stolen something, it would be Libel (or worse - I believe it’s also a crime to falsely report a crime).
Ultimately, it boils down to had they witnessed it or not - had they seen it on camera then they did, had they just blindly relied on the AI flagging it without actually checking it, then they did not, and “the AI told us so” wouldn’t fly in Court if they didn’t cross-checked the AI system and it turned out they had made an accusation of a Crime against somebody to somebody else or the authorities without actually checking it.
Innocent even proven guilty
I worked at my local Goodwill (they’re split up by region). We kept a close eye on known shoplifters, but we couldn’t say anything and even my boss couldn’t say anything unless he literally saw them conceal the object then walk out of the store and never broke eye contact. They said the store could get sued if we stopped them and they had ditched the contraband in the moment we looked away.
I don’t see why the stores discussed here should be treated differently. Someone needs to sue these surveillance stores until they stop automating false accusations.
Not a bug.
You’d think getting it easier to exchange money for items is the whole point of capitalism
When I worked at Lowe’s they could tell the instant shoplifters pulled into the parking lot. They even had nicknames for the repeat offenders.
“Heads up, Dumb and Dumber just pulled in, no doubt headed for lumber.”
Only the dumb, obvious ones.
I assure you, I’ve shoplifted quite a bit from Lowes without ever drawing suspicion.
You might be surprised at what they know! Dumb and Dumber above have no idea they’re targeted. Small timers won’t catch any heat as training is to let it slide above all. We had tips on how to “confront” shoplifters without actually saying anything.
Well, I never got ‘confronted’ at least.
That you know of. Some places wait until you hit felony level totals, then inform the police.
I usually go for pretty small stuff. Statute of limitations will probably run out before I rack up enough to hit felony level.
“What are you in for?”
“Felony bubble gum theft…”Lol fair enough
“Bit off more than you could chew, eh? Still, I like your gumption. I could use a man of your talents… And perhaps you could use a bit of ‘job security’, once you’re out of here. ‘Who’s asking’? Well, son, you’re looking at the mastermind behind the Great Maple Syrup Heist. That’s right. It was almost perfect, but as you can see, things got sticky in the end. But this next job will be different. You got your start stealing candy from babies, just like everybody else, didn’t you? Well, imagine stealing the candy before the baby even got it! Uh huh. So… I may or may not have come into possession of reliable intel about the Easter Bunny’s secret stash… We’re talking enough chocolate here to make each of us billionaires, once it’s melted down, and minted into fresh, clean, completely untraceable chocolate coins. So, what do you say… are you in?”
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I’ve gotten so many loose bolts and washers just laying around on the floor in the small parts section. I almost want to tell them to pay me for cleaning up their trash. Can’t say I’ve ever made off with lumber though.
Same with the LEGO isle in Wal-Mart.
How does one shoplift lumber?
Put it in your pants and claim you just have wood.
The nickname wasn’t because it rhymes. Because it doesn’t.
I’m so proud to say I have first hand experience: very quickly.
Casually
False accusation isn’t a crime over there?
What a shitty place!False accusation is one of the more difficult things to write laws for, because it’s very difficult to prove. IE the problem is defining honest reasonable suspicions from blatent attacks… and differentiating cannot prove it from proven innocent. Perhaps in shoplifting I don’t care, but in other aspects of life, say rape or violence that I actually do care about. We don’t want someone to not report serious crimes because if they can’t prove beyond reasonable doubt the person is guilty, they open themselves up to the law swinging the other way. So it can’t directly be provably guilty that makes the line, which then goes to intent. Is the accuser making a reasonable claim that merits opening an investigation, or maliciously getting it wrong on purpose, which is almost impossible to prove one way or the other beyond them being dumb enough to brag about it on social media.
No, but if a private corporation accuses me of shoplifting, bisrmirching my good name, you better believe I’m going to sue for libel.
You’re thinking of libel. Liable means legally responsible. If you win your libel case, the defendant will be liable for the damages.
Sorry to do this to you twice, but you can embed the gif directly in the comments using markdown like this: 
Which then renders like this
Good to know, always wondered how people did it. I’ll never remember, but thanks 😂
I bet you are forbidden from doing so. Because fuck you (and me, and us all,) that’s why. They have nothing but contempt for working people in politics and corporate american leadership. And the courts, and lawyers, to say nothing of all the prosecuting attorneys, that wouldn’t piss on one of us if we were on fire.
Nah, we still have some rights in the UK.
No face sitting porn though, RIP
Says the guy that doesn’t get a jury trial anymore if facing a year in prison, and soon 3 years, decided by a magistrate? That just made a masterbaitorbase to record every web page you ever considered whacking off to? That instituted age control and is now recording every single thing you have said or done?
You guys are worse off than here in the US, bro. You just have a mealy mouthed controlled opposition in power rather than a blowhard troll king so you must not notice it.
But no, by the way, on the cameras, what I said is correct, the entire city of london has been covered by cctv cameras for over 20 years. The entire thing, and it’s getting worse you can be sure. That was in the NYTimes, back before I left them over Israel.
Says the guy that doesn’t get a jury trial anymore if facing a year in prison, and soon 3 years, decided by a magistrate?
This got rolled back as far as I know, Andy Burnham shitcanned it because it was about as popular as bed bugs.
Jury changes scrapped
Internet access changes deserve all the scorn you can throw at it but it’s not how you’re representing it - it’s supposedly forced proof of ID - the current implementation is utterly failing though as the govt has admitted (and I can assure you I have not given my ID to anyone yet)
Your last point however is correct - London is covered in cameras, the only real difference is unlike the flock and etc shenanigans it is not YET hooked up to AI (edit and face /number plate recognition)- but they most certainly are working on it (edit they trialled facial recognition cameras on the tube and it was an utter failure)
It’s not worse than the US, not even close, but it is awful in different ways
The tories scrapped the jury trials for up to one year in prison in 2020, so that part isn’t scrapped presumably. The birthplace of modern liberty, cancelling it without a goddamned fight.
Also, they basically cancelled the right to protest, if disfavoured by the politcians. Plus falsley proscribing groups as terrorists based on politicians’ say so. Plus a bunch of other stuff.
I appreciate the links, especially about the scrapping of these jury trial changes from 1 year to 3 years in prison soley decided by the UK’s famously haughty and aristocratic cuntish old boys club that is it’s legal system.
But I must disagree, the UK is further into fascism than the US. You blokes just don’t realize it, for aforementioned reasons. Although reasonable people could disagree on a which is worse off.
I think the US will surpass the UK in getting worse in most ways soon-ish, and we already are worse in many ways, healthcare, business running amok, drug prices, less protections and regulations all around to protect us and more faithess enforcements. Still though.
None of which means I can’t sue home bargains in small claims court for libel.
This is actually trivial. Corporations and authorities have massive resources expertise and time. Private individuals have none of these things so you favor the small fry in every interaction.
You only punish false reports by individuals which are obviously proven malicious and knowingly false while you screw companies and authorities to the wall for the slightest lack of due diligence.
Should have known that the person who you put through the wringer was innocent because they live in a different state and only vaguely look like the person in bad cctv but ai told you it was them 5 million from both company and gov and principals on both sides get fired and on the government side bannied from any gov job.
You can trivially treat both classes differently and get the desired result
False accusation is one of the more difficult things to write laws for, because it’s very difficult to prove.
But you make it unnecessarily difficult by mixing up the definition itself and the questions of proof.
False accusation is a crime. But part of their contracts will absolve them of that liability, and of civil liability if possible, you can be sure. Not that they would enforce it if not.
This is a great way for people to lesen how this technology can be used negatively. Get the backlash early before it has completely infected everything.
Can we actually see the reports? Not saying it can’t happen but using AI in articles creates lots of views. Is “Home Bargin” the only store doing this? Is it only in the UK? This is really poor reporting here.
Anecdotally my wife keeps getting flagged by Walmart and they have to come watch her bag at the self checkout every time she uses one. So far no where else, just there. She uses them many other places, so she’s not acting suspicious or using it wrong.
Please stop shopping at places that treat you as if you are a criminal. Self checkouts are already customer hostile but essentially being treated as a potential shoplifter for using one should cause you to take your business elsewhere if at all feasible.
I don’t know their specific situation, but Walmart is often the only viable option for many lower population areas or late-night needs. A large part of Walmart’s expansion strategy is moving into a small town, then under-pricing all of their stuff at a loss. They keep selling things at a loss until all of the other local shops close, because they can’t compete with Walmart’s lower prices. Then once all of the local competition is run out of town, Walmart jacks their prices up because they’re the only option in town.
They’re also often one of the only grocers that stays open late. This means they’re often the only viable option for third-shift workers, because the alternative would be waking up at their equivalent of 2AM to go grocery shopping.
Are Walmarts open at 2AM again? Most of them around here stopped doing 24 hours during COVID and never went back.
Fast Food too.
I don’t shop at Walmart, but last I looked they closed at 9 or 10. The grocery store closest to me is open til 11. It’s way more convenient to just go there, even if it is a little more expensive. I miss stores being open 24-7.
I dont know how much this is actually happening now a days but seems much harder to do when the prices are shown online and you can change pickup location at will. Maybe 20 years ago it was more true.
Walmart doesn’t have to cut prices to blast all the mom and pops out of business. Maybe that was a thing in the 80s when they went for monster expansion.
Target’s online pricing varies depending on the store you’ll be picking up from, so I imagine Walmart can do the same.
Yeah, I check toy stuff for clearance sometimes with the app and it even says “in this store” or something for the price.
When they walk up she should ask them to go ahead and start scanning and bagging her groceries
They actually did the first few times. Which is funny to me because my wife is very much a control freak. She did not think it was funny, though.
This has happened to me at a few times a local grocery chain (it’s not wal-mart, but I don’t want to name it, as that would reveal my general location).
Walmart has extremely good facial recognition software, which I assume now has been taken over by AI.
I also get my reusable bags checked at Walmart (I rarely shop there anymore),they will even make me take out all the empty ones in my larger bag to prove I’m not stealing. I figured it was strore policy.
I do know retail theft has skyrocketed the last 5 or so years. I have read stores getting rid of self checkouts because of this.
I have read stores getting rid of self checkouts because of this.
That’s a good result if true. They’ll have to keep employing humans.
I wouldn’t get excited, I work in that tech space and at least in the Us and Canada strategies of major grocery stores is increasing self checkout options as well as AI surveillance. If the bubble pops that may change but it’s not deterring anything from the c-suite this far
I do know retail theft has skyrocketed the last 5 or so years.
Nobody should give any fucks whatsoever as long as it continues to be dwarfed by wage theft.
Also, there is zero fucking reason to let Walmart check your receipt or your bags. With a warehouse club like Costco it’s written into the membership agreement, but a normal store has no authority to hold you, especially without probable cause. Exercise your goddamn rights, people!
You have no 4th amendment rights against a private party. Depending on your state, the store can detain you until police arrive if they suspect you of shoplifting.
The key phrase there is “if they suspect you of shoplifting” which means they need to have actual fucking evidence and merely refusing their rent-a-gestapo bullshit doesn’t cut it.
Otherwise, they’re the ones committing the crime of false imprisonment.
I do know retail theft has skyrocketed the last 5 or so years.
Yeah the stores did that.
They knew self-checkout would be shoplifter heaven but they calculated that they saved more by cutting jobs. Then they cry for insurance and government payouts by pretending there is an epidemic of crime.
And now they’re cutting back on the self-checkouts while not bothering to hire people back to work the registers lol. The lines are getting longer and longer.
And now they’re cutting back on the self-checkouts while not bothering to hire people back to work the registers lol. The lines are getting longer and longer.
Of course, how else to drive you to use their pickup/delivery service for a premium, or to order online where they can really gouge you individually with surveillance pricing.
They were never going to do surveillance pricing in store, that’s too hard, but why have useable stores at all? Throw everything in locked cases, staff minimally, ignore complaints, profit (this quarter).
they will even make me take out all the empty ones in my larger bag to prove I’m not stealing.
God, I would laugh so hard as I kept walking to my car.
I hope not here as self checkout was a massive improvement for being able to check out with a few items where I live. They also have people assigned and present at slef checkout and more staff roaming the store to answer questions and keep stuff organized compared to before self checkout was a thing. I get help finding things and out the door faster.
Sucks that they are doing a shitty implementation other placss.
CCTV cameras, of which London is completely covered by last I heard, over two decades back, are notorious for misidentifying people with facial recognition before this llm bs even came out.
Especially minorities, there was a dude in detroit, black dude, got falsley flagged by the system for a murder, they arrested him, ignoring his ironclad alibi, and tried to make the charges stick for some time, knowing he was innocent. That was a number of years back, but not a one off at all.
do you have instincts?
