Where’s the Human?

Technology could significantly reduce the amount of human interaction in the quick-service and restaurant industries.

May 27, 2014

NEW YORK – Convenience stores are largely accustomed to customers taking control of their experience, whether it’s self-service at the pump or placing a food and drink order via free-standing kiosks, but for the fast-food industry, the growth of technology could have a dramatic impact on its workforce, reports CNN.

“As protesters across the country call for the fast-food chains to raise their wages, a number of companies have begun experimenting with new technology that could significantly reduce the number of restaurant workers in the years to come,” writes the news source, adding that “a sharp rise in wages would be counterproductive, increasing the appeal of automation and putting more workers at risk of job loss.”

Chains such as Panera Bread are bringing self-service kiosks to its locations in the next three years, while Chili’s and Applebee’s continue to add tablets at tables for diners to place food and drink orders — “without interacting with human wait staff at all,” writes CNN.

An Oxford University white paper, “The Future of Employment,” suggests that an estimated 47% of U.S. employment is at risk to computerization, and there is a 92% chance that “combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food” would be automated in the coming decades.

Oxford researchers also suggest that robots could take control of food preparation, such as bartending or putting together gourmet hamburgers, and that drones could replace delivery drivers. 

Darren Tristano at Technomic told CNN that digital technology will "slowly, over time, create efficiency and labor savings" for restaurants, estimating that workforces would only drop by 5% or 10% in the decades to come.

Meanwhile, IBM’s Watson, the same computer that took down Ken Jennings in “Jeopardy,” has tested what IBM calls cognitive computing (i.e., creativity) in the kitchen — and apparently quite successfully. Fast Company’s Co.Design writes that Watson’s Bengali Butternut BBQ Sauce is tasty as well as healthy.

“Not only is it deliciously sweet and tangy, but it’s low in sugar, with only 2g per serving versus the 16g you’ll find in Sweet Baby Ray’s signature sauce, or the 5g you’ll find in their honey mustard dipping sauce … The opportunity to generate healthier tasty foods by maximizing the use of complementary flavor-packed ingredients is just one of the promises of IBM’s technology, and at least in this case, they’ve proven the concept,” writes the news source.

Fast Company’s Co.Design author, Mark Wilson, summarizes: “If the future of food is designed by robots, that’s fine by me.”

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