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Who pushes the button?

aeon.co

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Re: Who pushes the button?

#11

Post by dmix »

sandworm101 wrote: post #10
scatters wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When did you last go to a fast food joint? The food is still produced and delivered by humans, but it's ordered via an app or touchscreen interface.

Yesterday. I drove there in a car piloted by a human. I ordered by talking to a human. I handed cash to a human. My food was prepared by a human and handed to me by a human. For all the tech articles, little has changed since drive-throughs were invented back in the 50s.

Ritual has completely changed how I order food. I never wait in line, talk to the staff, or have to pay in person. You just show up when the app tells you it will be ready and grab the bag and go.

Everyone I know who started using it uses it nearly daily or multiple times a week. There's often 10+ bags waiting for Ritual users at any time at a hamburger place I frequent.

Not to mention Uber eats and other delivery services. Retail interaction for food is changing rapidly.

Re: Who pushes the button?

#12

Post by asark »

dmix wrote: post #11
sandworm101 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yesterday. I drove there in a car piloted by a human. I ordered by talking to a human. I handed cash to a human. My food was prepared by a human and handed to me by a human. For all the tech articles, little has changed since drive-throughs were invented back in the 50s.

Ritual has completely changed how I order food. I never wait in line, talk to the staff, or have to pay in person. You just show up when the app tells you it will be ready and grab the bag and go. Everyone I know who started using it uses it nearly daily or multiple times a week. There's often 10+ bags waiting for Ritual users at any time at a hamburger place I frequent. Not to mention Uber eats and other delivery se…

I had to add "food ordering" to "ritual" to get DDG or Google to tell me what you might be talking about. The landing page doesn't explain what it does, at all, above the fold. "Make friends with food" is the largest text and it appears this does something called "social ordering". Is that like group orders? Or catering? Or does it automatically post everything I order to my social media? "Make friends with food" plus the image on the page makes me think maybe it's some kind of food-related meet-up thing, like you take a slot at a table with other strangers who are also using the app so you're not alone at lunch.

Whatever it is, I can "order now". Scrolling reveals that yes, it appears it's just group orders and take-out. What a revolution.

Re: Who pushes the button?

#13

Post by pixl97 »

sandworm101 wrote: post #10
scatters wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When did you last go to a fast food joint? The food is still produced and delivered by humans, but it's ordered via an app or touchscreen interface.

Yesterday. I drove there in a car piloted by a human. I ordered by talking to a human. I handed cash to a human. My food was prepared by a human and handed to me by a human. For all the tech articles, little has changed since drive-throughs were invented back in the 50s.

>quite the handwave of a highly optimized system that contains a lot easier of automation.

In many restaurants a person throws a premade burger in a microwave and slaps it together. Before then countless machines, and far less humans than ever touched it before then.

Re: Who pushes the button?

#14

Post by Nition »

I realise this isn't the point of the article at all (although it is mentioned) but man, pushing a button is much better than touching a capacitive button. Forget the pain of replacing humans with buttons; when are real pushable buttons and turnable knobs coming back‽

Re: Who pushes the button?

#15

Post by foxyv »

Nition wrote: post #14

I realise this isn't the point of the article at all (although it is mentioned) but man, pushing a button is much better than touching a capacitive button. Forget the pain of replacing humans with buttons; when are real pushable buttons and turnable knobs coming back‽

This is one reason why I probably will not get a car with touchscreen controls for stuff.
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