I really appreciate your perspective. Personally, “user” is an easy and reasonably accurate word to use. In the past, I have always liked it more than “customer” because to me “customer” is too money-focused. At the same time, just as you point out that “user” is flat, I think it creates more distance from “human”. It’s easy for someone to think they are a user expert, but shouldn’t we keep the humans at the center of our efforts and designs?