It’s perfectly natural to be wary of Britain’s drift towards automation

SIR – Lord Frost (“The backlash against self-service checkouts is a case study in why Britain is determined to be poor”, Comment, August 23) appears not to understand that humans need contact with other humans, rather than faceless technology, in their daily transactions. 

These connections are crucial to our wellbeing. It’s not all about money. 

Diana Wells
Liss, Hampshire

SIR – I take issue with Lord Frost’s remarks, particularly about self-service checkouts. 

Yes, some people with only a few purchases might find them useful. However, if you are older, have one or two small children or even a minor disability (such as poor eyesight), these devices are a nightmare. 

The return to manned checkouts is not a step backwards; it is a return to common sense.

Frances Rand 
Kendal, Cumbria

SIR – There are good arguments against smart motorways, self-service checkouts, QR codes and de-personalised banking. 

Lord Frost ought to know that new ideas do not necessarily represent progress. Very often they are introduced solely to maximise corporate profit.

Valentine Guinness
London W12

SIR – A restaurant near me has stopped taking cash in order to boost (in its words) “the customer experience”. 

The manager told me it was to reduce its insurance.

John Frankel
Newbury, Berkshire

SIR – I am 77 and consider myself reasonably tech-savvy. 

I still work three days a week and have a good social life, so am not among the lonely older people whose only human contact is with supermarket cashiers or bank tellers – but I still prefer to be served by a person in a shop. 

However, I do think that the families and friends of older people should do more to encourage them to embrace the basics of modern technology. Initially they could be helped to own a smartphone, and shown how to use self-service checkouts with confidence. There is also the huge benefit of being reminded about hospital appointments by text, given the unreliability of the postal service.

We can’t stop progress, and, as time goes on, life will become increasingly reliant on technology, to the detriment of those who ignore it. Of course, there will always be some who are unable to master such things, and alternatives should be available to them (as well as for the occasions when computers crash or there is a power outage). But there are also a lot of people who just refuse to try, and I worry that they will become more and more isolated.

Ruth Astall
Kidlington, Oxfordshire