See The McDonald’s That’s Being Run By Robots
A McDonald's in Texas is now testing a fully automated location that uses robots to fulfill orders.
It’s an introverted foodie’s dream come true and an extrovert’s worst nightmare— the first ever fully automated, zero-human contact McDonald’s has opened in Fort Worth, Texas, according to Twisted Food. As another example of how computers are taking over simple human tasks, the fast food chain has switched out their front-facing employees for McDonald’s robots.
TikTok user @FoodieMunster was invited to tour the state-of-art facility that offers both drive-through and take-out orders delivered by McDonald’s robots, as seen above. The restaurant is plainly decorated in comparison to other locations because this franchise does not allow dine-in eating. Instead, customers order their food through a computer and can either drive through to pick it up or receive it from a robot conveyer belt for takeout. While humans still make the food at this fast food joint, customers need not have any human interaction, as robots are the customer service now.
While automating takeout is not a new concept, and ordering food from your phone, online, or even at kiosks at restaurants is considered perfectly normal nowadays, this Texas McDonald’s is taking automation to an entirely new level. This McDonald’s location is testing out robots to cut out human error and get food delivered to their customers faster and easier than they have ever experienced before. In addition to being a more effective system, automation creates a safer environment in a post-pandemic world.
However, despite the practicality of McDonald’s robots, many people are wary of what normalizing this type of automation might mean for our society. Podcaster Elijah Schaffer retweeted @FoodieMunster’s TikTok, captioning that the McDonald’s robots were the fast food conglomerate’s response to workers asking for higher pay.
Technology has often been criticized out of the fear that it will take over humanity one day. With McDonald’s robots being one example of human jobs being replaced with automation, some are afraid that the machines are taking over faster than initially feared. Technology is advancing every day, with some robots even learning how to recognize when they are damaged and being programmed with the ability to repair themselves—a talent that humans cannot compete with.
The McDonald’s robots aren’t completely taking over the human workforce at this Texas location. The food here is still made by humans, even though they are unseen in the back of the building. Also, there would have to be human workers present to fix any sort of malfunction issues that the robots might have.
Despite the fact that the location still employs humans, the worry of what other jobs technology might replace is very real. Recently, an AI-generated artwork won first place at an art competition, leaving artists livid and afraid for the security of their livelihood.
For now, however, the McDonald’s robots are not standardized throughout the company but are only being tested in one location. It is unclear how long the automation will be trialed in the restaurant, but the success or failure of the experiment will determine whether future McDonald’s and other restaurants will implement a robot system as well.
