at least when it comes to consumer tech
like i can't even remember the last time i was excited for a new tech thing. maybe my second smart phone, i guess? that one was at least a big improvement from my first one. third was marginally better, and then the fourth, which i'm using now, i feel like i only got because of planned obsolescence (slow down/battery problems etc.)
it's such a stark contrast from growing up in the 90s/early 2000s
the fundamental problem is as you pointed out, a refusal to hire sufficient staff. no matter how much labor saving tech they install/offload labor to customers---they just lower the staff and replicate the same structural imbalance. self-checkout doesn't deliver a smoother consumer-end experience, or alleviate pressure on the workers---it just gives management a reason to not have another checker or two. and a way to put a security camera in your face for analytics/surveillance