> In reality though, other humans are always necessary — whether to explain how to use the technology,
You can do that through good UI design, manuals, tutorials and support (possibly paid support).
> to do something that can't be done through the software, to fix the software
This doesn't mean the people doing this have to be the vendors selling the software. You should be able to do it yourself, or hire a third party.
> (after isolating the problem using your data).
Doesn't justify getting that data without consent.
> If there's trust between the user and the software provider, why not leverage it to fill in the gaps that software leaves in functionality.
One of the point of Free Software is that this shouldn't be a two-party relationship. The relationship should include all other users of the software, and put them all in similar positions of power.
(Personal aside: maybe this is because I'm past my 20s, but I start to hate this growing trend where buying a product forces you to establish a relationship with a vendor. I don't want a relationship, I want the product.)
> If there's no trust, how do you use software without giving the provider the keys to the kingdom?
Open source.