1. The Helpful Checkout
At the supermarket’s self-checkout, every item Priya scanned triggered a voice saying, “Unexpected item in bagging area.”
She called the attendant. He reset it and asked her to try again.
She scanned a carton of milk. The machine complained.
He scanned it himself. This time it accepted the milk but refused the bag.
“Does it always argue this much?” Priya asked.
“Only when it’s busy.”
They moved to a staffed register. The cashier scanned everything without a complaint.
As Priya left, the self-checkout spoke again: “Please take your receipt.”
She looked back. “Now it wants the last word.”
2. The Smart Doorbell
Noah installed a smart doorbell that sent his phone a picture whenever someone came to the front door. At work he got three alerts in an hour, all showing his father standing on the step.
He called home. “Dad, do you need something?”
“No,” his father said. “I’m testing it.”
“You only have to ring it once.”
“I know. I’m testing the picture. I keep looking surprised in every one.”
Noah checked the images. His father was making progressively stranger faces.
“Why not just take a selfie?”
“Because,” his father said, “then I’d have to pretend the camera caught me by surprise.”
3. The Fitness Streak
Ellie’s fitness app congratulated her for walking ten thousand steps on Tuesday. She had spent most of the day at her desk.
On Wednesday it awarded her a personal best while she watched a film. She finally realized she’d left the phone in her dog’s harness pouch after their morning walk.
She moved it back to her pocket. By dinner, the app warned that her activity had dropped sharply.
Ellie looked at the dog, who was asleep after a long run around the garden.
“The app thinks I’m ill,” she told him.
He opened one eye.
“I’m not worried,” she said. “I’m worried it thinks you’re my doctor.”
4. The Online Cooking Class
In an online cooking class, the instructor told everyone to put the dough somewhere warm and leave it alone for an hour.
An hour later, most students held up risen loaves. Martin showed a flat bowl.
“Where did you leave it?” the instructor asked.
“On the table, next to the radiator.”
“Was the radiator on?”
“No. You said to leave the dough alone. I didn’t want to disturb it by checking.”
She smiled. “It needs warmth more than privacy.”
Martin switched on the radiator. At the end of class he held up a beautiful loaf of bread from the shop.
“Did the dough finally rise?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “I did. I got up and bought this.”
5. The Parking App
The town replaced its parking meters with an app. When Rose arrived, the app asked for her location, her registration number and a photograph of the sign beside her car.
She filled everything in, but it said: LOCATION NOT FOUND.
She walked to the next street for a better signal. The app found her immediately and offered a parking space there.
“But my car is on the other street,” she told the screen.
A parking officer passing by suggested she move the car.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to pay at the old meter?” Rose asked.
“It would,” he said. “That’s why we removed it.”