We all knew it would eventually happen. We've heard about it for years. Now it's here!
A burger chain in California, CaliBurger (original, huh?), is rolling out (pun intended) 50 burger-flipping robots at 50 of its restaurants. Named Flippy (duh!), the robots cost $60K each, plus $12K per year in maintenance. They can cook/flip 12 patties simultaneously, are never sick, and require no benefits, but so far have not be able to master the fine art of assembling two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun* like Bubba Joe can.
Right now there are experiments being done on having the person you talk to via the cheap, tinny speaker in the drive-thru lane be that of a low-wage Indian worker back in Mumbai. He/she takes your order, types it in, and it shows up an instant later back in the restaurant's kitchen (true). Then Flippy does his thing, Bubba Joe still (for now) assembles it, and Bertha Mae still (for now) takes your money. Only she can't make change for a $10 bill...nobody can in 2018...but that's OK 'cause the cash register can. Will it be long you think until they're made redundant, too?
Robots aren't new, but their proliferation is gaining momentum. Where they were once confined to high-valued-added applications such as auto assembly, we're now on the cusp of seeing them in mundane places like burger joints.
Due to their aging and shrinking population, the Japanese have been working for years to perfect personal service robots to take over chores older people can no longer do for themselves. They can bring food and drink, meds, clean the house (think Roomba vacuums) and probably even call 911 if they sense something is wrong with their elderly hoomans.
What's this going to do to high-tech advanced countries who currently have a large number of poorly educated people who can do little more than flip burgers and push a broom? And how long will it be until robots can sit on the porch and whittle, or go to the corner diner and drink a cup of...ahh...whatever and replay the 1982 Rose Bowl game like the old-timers do now? Where will this bad dream end?
Until then, I wonder if Flippy can handle a burger, no onions? :)
S
*It was a rather catchy McDonald's slogan back in the '80's.
Between the robots flipping burgers and computer kiosks there will soon be far fewer low-income jobs. It's why capitalism can't survive for much longer. There simply won't be enough jobs for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading an article that painted a very doom-and-gloom picture of the job situation for people graduating from school. So many jobs were disappearing. The writer recommended going into organic farming, because there might be a future in it - and you would at least have food to eat, if not a job where you could make money.
ReplyDeleteWait - I read this article when I was in high school, in the 1970's.
I agree there are big changes coming. I'll hold off a bit on the doom-and-gloom.
They have been preaching this doom and gloom for at least 200 years, sadly some day I think they may be right. Personally, like many old farts, I don't even trust self-checkouts.
ReplyDelete