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McDonald's is to replace human servers with voice gen in its US drive-throughs

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Re: McDonald's is to replace human servers with voice gen in its US drive-throughs

#191

Post by giancarlostoro »

bhouston wrote: post #135
hirundo wrote: post #15

Next they'll come for the cooks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKCVol2iWcc There are ~487k fast food cooks employed at ~$22.6k average wages. That's more than an $11 billion annual incentive to bring robochefs to retail. And that's just fast food, just in the US. Robo janitors may take a bit longer. Maybe they can design automated kitchens that work like jumbo dish washers. Seal, flood, heat, drain, reopen. The jan…

Robots are so much high maintenance than just touch panels and voice rec. Thus while it is a good idea the hurtles are much higher to get a positive ROI.

Touch panels seem to be way better than trying to figure out how to speak in "Robot English" instead of just pushing buttons that do what you mean (mostly) without fail. Also some people who take your order are rude and make whats just supposed to be a convenient grab for food into an awful experience.

Re: McDonald's is to replace human servers with voice gen in its US drive-throughs

#192

Post by likeclockwork »

jhbadger wrote: post #188
Gorbzel wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unclear why one needs kiosks when the user's device is much more compelling. While there are some (very good) exceptions, many remain yesteryear's technology and meh to outright garbage UIX. The only reason is to maintain some local control and (when available) human common sense in the equation. Brick & mortar kiosks are the DVD Netflix of fast food.

Do you really want dozens of apps on your phone, one for each restaurant you could possibly eat at? I don't.

WiFi web portal you use in the store?

Re: McDonald's is to replace human servers with voice gen in its US drive-throughs

#193

Post by james_s_tayler »

zanny wrote: post #168
stjohnswarts wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This would be nice if it were true. Since the top 0.1% have figured out how to own the nation via politics and trying to dumb down the general populace to ignore what they're doing I don't have nearly as much confidence in automation as you do.

I'd go insane if I weren't optimistic that we can eventually reach a post-scarcity, totally automated, enlightened civilization. The alternative is our destruction anyway. Its going to happen in much the same way as space colonization or uploading our consciousness if we continue on. And there is kind of a doublethink in that statement. To stop automation requires state intervention in the first place. It would, natu…

I wonder what the guy who lived like 300,000 years before you thought... Probably just trying to get something to eat and not die.

Re: McDonald's is to replace human servers with voice gen in its US drive-throughs

#194

Post by lordlimecat »

toomanybeersies wrote: post #175
rangibaby wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We saved billions of dollars with automation! Why is no one buying our products anymore? Hmm, it must be because they are spending all their money on avocados! I think the only way to go is to do basic income funded by an automation tax. Henry Ford knew that people needed enough money to actually buy his cars and made it happen with high wages.

Or we recognise that as we automate further that there's less collective work for humanity, and we move away from the idea every adult should be required to work 40 hours a week to survive?

>Or we recognise that as we automate further that there's less collective work for humanity

This has basically never been true in the history of work-saving technology improvements. Such advances tend to create entirely new, previously impossible jobs.

Re: McDonald's is to replace human servers with voice gen in its US drive-throughs

#195

Post by cm2187 »

giancarlostoro wrote: post #191
bhouston wrote: post #135

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Robots are so much high maintenance than just touch panels and voice rec. Thus while it is a good idea the hurtles are much higher to get a positive ROI.

Touch panels seem to be way better than trying to figure out how to speak in "Robot English" instead of just pushing buttons that do what you mean (mostly) without fail. Also some people who take your order are rude and make whats just supposed to be a convenient grab for food into an awful experience.

Seems to be easily solvable with an app on your phone, you order as you queue and by the time you reach the counter you already paid.

Re: McDonald's is to replace human servers with voice gen in its US drive-throughs

#196

Post by listenallyall »

js2 wrote: post #103
tracker1 wrote: post #11

"Double Quarter Pounder, just the sandwich, only cheese, no bun. Two side salads no croutons, no dressing, two dip cups of ranch for nuggets. Large diet dr pepper, easy ice." Lets see if the AI can get that right more often than their staff can.

Oh, you're one of those. My parents never order what's on the menu. They've always got to customize it. Which is fine. But then they get all bent out of shape when the order isn't right. From a fast food joint. Can't you just order what's on the damn menu? :)

https://youtu.be/cnlm2e3EN78

Re: McDonald's is to replace human servers with voice gen in its US drive-throughs

#197

Post by krapp »

lordlimecat wrote: post #194
toomanybeersies wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or we recognise that as we automate further that there's less collective work for humanity, and we move away from the idea every adult should be required to work 40 hours a week to survive?

>Or we recognise that as we automate further that there's less collective work for humanity This has basically never been true in the history of work-saving technology improvements. Such advances tend to create entirely new, previously impossible jobs.

What entirely new, previously impossible job does automating away McDonald's workers create, that formerly employed McDonald's workers are qualified for? Are we going to send them all to coding bootcamps so they can program the kiosks and... oh wait, those jobs are already taken, never mind.

Your statement tends to be true when automation involves some kind of revolutionary technological paradigm shift, and the number of people being automated out of work is sufficiently small that societies can easily reabsorb them into the workforce. But most modern automation doesn't create new jobs or new technologies, the infrastructure for automation already exists and is stable. It just removes jobs, and at an unprecedented scale.

Re: McDonald's is to replace human servers with voice gen in its US drive-throughs

#198

Post by ptah »

zanny wrote: post #168
stjohnswarts wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This would be nice if it were true. Since the top 0.1% have figured out how to own the nation via politics and trying to dumb down the general populace to ignore what they're doing I don't have nearly as much confidence in automation as you do.

I'd go insane if I weren't optimistic that we can eventually reach a post-scarcity, totally automated, enlightened civilization. The alternative is our destruction anyway. Its going to happen in much the same way as space colonization or uploading our consciousness if we continue on. And there is kind of a doublethink in that statement. To stop automation requires state intervention in the first place. It would, natu…

>we can eventually reach a post-scarcity, totally automated, enlightened civilization

this won't happen automatically. it will have to be a conscious decision. how do you propose to get there instead of the dystopian future where things are infinitely more scarce for some and not for others which seems to be our default trajectory

Re: McDonald's is to replace human servers with voice gen in its US drive-throughs

#199

Post by ptah »

lordlimecat wrote: post #194
toomanybeersies wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or we recognise that as we automate further that there's less collective work for humanity, and we move away from the idea every adult should be required to work 40 hours a week to survive?

>Or we recognise that as we automate further that there's less collective work for humanity This has basically never been true in the history of work-saving technology improvements. Such advances tend to create entirely new, previously impossible jobs.

> new, previously impossible jobs.

like this? https://www.vox.com/2018/5/8/17308744/bullshit-jobs-book-dav...

Re: McDonald's is to replace human servers with voice gen in its US drive-throughs

#200

Post by uuoc »

likeclockwork wrote: post #192
jhbadger wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you really want dozens of apps on your phone, one for each restaurant you could possibly eat at? I don't.

WiFi web portal you use in the store?

Yes, that would work, but then that does not provide the marketing department with the same level of invasive tracking and push notification as "an app" does. So guess which option gets built....
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