McDonald's Customers React to Drive-Thru Automation Tests
11/01/2021 07:29 pm EDT
Prepare
Commenters urged fast food employees, labor organizers and politicians to begin preparing for automation now rather than reacting to it when it becomes more prevalent. They feared that time was already running out to develop policies and awareness of this complex issue.
Experience
As the news of this AOT development spread, commenters revisited Chris Matyszczyk's firsthand report on a visit to an automated McDonald's drive-thru in Chicago for Technically Incorrect. Judging by his observations, most were no eager to see this technology take hold.
Antisocial
On the other hand, some users welcomed the idea of an AI order-taking service because it would give them an option to avoid human contact. Some compared it to the rise in self-checkout lanes at stores.
Examples
AI restauranteurs have been depicted in media enough for users to pull out a few deep-cut references for this occasion. Most assumed that robotic servers would have all the quirks of human ones before long.
Scare Tactics
A few people even floated a conspiracy theory that McDonald's was advertising this AI program as a way of indirectly intimidating current and former employees to accept whatever wages they were offered instead of fighting for a bigger paycheck.
Customers
Some commenters wondered if the money McDonald's saves by using AI employees will be offset by the sudden drop in their customer base, as the people they lay off will not be able to afford burgers.
AI Rights
Many people wondered if it was safe to assume that an AI would willingly work at McDonald's once it was sufficiently advanced. In particular, former employees invited the AI to commiserate with them.
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