I occasionally frequent a small, local corner grocery store in San Francisco. At the checkout counter, the credit card reader serves up a screen that asks me what percentage I’d like to offer as a tip. On one hand, it seems weird to tip when there were no services rendered. On the other hand, one does feel like a jerk bypassing the tip screen by clicking the none button. And there’s the modern rub. At the conclusion of almost every human transaction, well-honed software pressures consumers to tip, as the employee and other customers look on. I consider myself an over-tipper in situations where tipping is traditional. But how often is too often? I’ve been happy to see that my neighborhood Starbucks drive-thru now gives me the option to tip—especially since my daughter’s orders usually require a PhD in Coffee Mixology to interpret and execute. But should you be asked to tip your mortgage broker? The amount of money Americans spend on tips is continuing to rise and the software that drives the behavior is continuing to improve. So you can expect the requests to keep coming. AP: Is tipping getting out of control? (I just asked ChatGTP if I should be tipping it. The response: “As an AI, I do not have the ability to receive or use tips.” Maybe it’s not as smart as we think it is…)