It was a Wednesday night when I landed at the Seattle Airport for the 2023 AWP Conference, held March 8 through 11, at the Seattle Convention Center. Making my way that night to a hotel in the Capitol Hill area, I was reminded of the city’s reputation for cutting-edge tech. My hotel was effectively automated (no front desk or staff; everything pretty much handled byoff, I walked a block to a grocery store, passing several electric scooters randomly scattered across the sidewalk — each available to rent (using your phone). At the store, I walked through a flap-gate turnstile (that I opened with a QR code on my phone) into a warmly lit grocery space unlike I’d ever encountered. There were no checkout lanes or cash registers. Just a single, bored looking attendant slouching at a desk.
