Haven't we gone a bit far with automation in everyday life?
I'll admit I'm no historian, but I think it all started with those automated doors at supermarkets, and then just went horribly awry from there. People at that time probably thought it was the coolest thing to see a door swing open every time you stepped on the big black mat... and it was. It was almost like a game for kids - about the only game you had if you were dragged to the supermarket with your mom. Try to step on the mat slowly, and see if you can trick it into not opening. Then, try to get it to open and close quick enough to appear like a big sideways mouth that's talking. Hee hee!!
The next advance was when street lights started getting more intelligent. They grew motion sensors that let them know cars have stopped coming from the side street, so they can let the main road keep moving again. This ended up meaning if you're trailing the next car going through a green light by more than 100 feet, you know it's going to be an "orange" light by the time you're heading through the intersection, so you have to make that last minute "gun it or screech" decision. It also meant if the oncoming turn lane has 800 cars waiting to make a left, you're gonna be stuck for 45 minutes before your side turns green.
Next, and perhaps not chronologically speaking, cars started getting too damn smart for their own good. We started hearing about "computers" built into our cars, and soon after, computers that needed to be replaced in cars ("I gotta' replace my car's computer? What the hell is this, Star Trek?!"). Of course, thanks to the computer in our cars, there's a whole host of sensors that are strewn throughout the engine compartment that enjoy breaking down around the 75,000 mile marker, drumming up more steady business for mechanics. Sensors remind you when to replace your oil, when your lights should be on, and when your door shouldn't be open - all whether you want to be reminded or not.
And of course there's the mother of all car annoyances, the friggin' Check Engine light. It's become the all knowing orb of your car's health. You can't tell what the hell it means - could be a broken valve, orit could be a loose windshield wiper. Many times, mechanics will tell you it's nothing to worry about (one of your 400 practically useless sensors has burned out) and to ignore it, which pisses me off. What's the point of a red flag if you're gonna just disregard the stupid thing? I was told to ignore the Check Engine light in Pennsylvania, and when it burned out completely in Georgia, my car couldn't pass inspection until I spent $200 to rip open the dashboard and replace a $1.00 light bulb. Friggin' light.
And have you ever seen your oil light? I haven't seen that light in any of my cars, ever. What's the deal there?
Finally, the big daddy of all automation madness is in public bathrooms. It all started when little red lights started showing up on urinals, ominously pointing right at our crotches. You'd have to look at these things for a minute to realize they would flush on their own. Being an activity that most adults have been doing since age 2, it's a bit unnerving to see that someone found the need to let the toilets takeover the task of flushing.
Why stop there? Why not toilets and urinals that suck your excrement, relieving the burdens on your bladder and bowels?
Then came the automated faucets. These things are not reliable. You inevitably have to play "find the hot spot"every time you use these damn things, waving your hands around like you're searching for cob webs. When you find that right spot, if you budge from it an inch, the water shuts off and you have to start over again. And, when the sensors break, you're stuck with nothing more than an oddly placed tow hitch, refusing to do a simple job you could easily trigger with, say, a lever or knob of some kind. You know? Like those old fashioned faucets?
And these towel dispensers have taken on a mom's role in the rest room. "No Jimmy, one towel is more than enough to dry your hands!" Bullsh*t - I use 17 towels, and I may just clean out your soap dispenser while I'm here! Restrooms are willing to splurge on their $500 Rea-D Towel 3000, but they're pressed to save a few cents on extra towels. It's stupid, demeaning, and I'd rather deal with one of those antique, steam-operated hand dryers (the kind that leave your hands moist after 12 minutes of hot air) than fight with those friggin' automatic towel machines to get a second paper towel.
I know these "advances" don't come from the environmental movement - they come from corporate douchebags targeting business owners who want to save $6 a year on their water bill. You can tell because each of these items is too condescending to be a work of positive advancement for anyone.
I'm not an enemy of automation.
I love the fact that my iron turns off automatically after 10 minutes. I feel warm knowing my air bag can tell the right time to blow up in my face. But when you start messing with the things we've handled for decades without issue, leave them alone. We don't need any more automation in the car, the bathroom or any place else we enjoy everyday, simple amounts of control. We evolved with arms and hands for a reason, and it wasn't so an electronic sensor could take over the task of flipping light swtiches, dispensing ice cubes or telling me to "Please place items in shopping bag to continue scanning."
Haven't we gone a bit far with automation in everyday life? 
And of course there's the mother of all car annoyances, the friggin' Check Engine light. It's become the all knowing orb of your car's health. You can't tell what the hell it means - could be a broken valve, or it could be a loose windshield wiper. Many times, mechanics will tell you it's nothing to worry about (one of your 400 practically useless sensors has burned out) and to ignore it, which pisses me off. What's the point of a red flag if you're gonna just disregard the stupid thing? I was told to ignore the Check Engine light in Pennsylvania, and when it burned out completely in Georgia, my car couldn't pass inspection until I spent $200 to rip open the dashboard and replace a $1.00 light bulb. Friggin' light.