[Avitas]

For something like a DMV, it is important that a live human being personally verify individuals and documents in-person. This is inefficient by design, but quite necessary.

Automation of things such as this with current technology makes something as important as vehicle licensing and government-issued identification (along with everything that entails) a very risky and dangerous thing indeed.

Okay, so going to the DMV is boring and even infuriating. But, for now, we must have human beings asking all of the questions, administering all of the tests, looking at every person in the face, double and triple-checking things and so on.

[tjradcliffe]

Yet in other countries similar processes are no where near as painful, so the claim that "having human beings involved necessarily makes things painfully in efficient" is not very plausible.

For reasons I don't understand American government systems tend to be very difficult and painful to deal with. This not unique to the US, but in the developed world most other nations have seen improvements since the '70's. The US, not so much.

Getting a driver's license or health card in Canada used to be pretty painful. Today it's very streamlined. You still have to deal with people face-to-face, but the process has been designed to be quick and efficient.

[excalq]

In my experience the Canada DMV has incredibly hot young women working at the DMV. Back home, it's Patty and Selma.

[pjc50]

I'm in the UK, and "going to the DMV" is one of those US rituals I don't understand. We have one licensing office and interact with it entirely by post or Internet. Photo authentication can be done off the passport photo system.

Passport photo authentication is effectively crowdsourced, with a very British requirement that the person authenticating the photo be suitably middle class: https://www.gov.uk/countersigning-passport-applications

[Shebanator]

The california dmv now has touch screen testing in at least some of its offices - no manual administering of tests required. https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/newsrel/newsre...