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poobearcatbomber t1_irsug4v wrote

5-10 years ago everyone said fast food would be automated in 5-10 years...

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saleemkarim t1_irtkbnv wrote

Yeah, I think people underestimate how much corporations focus on the short-term over the long-term.

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Angry_Grandpa_ t1_iru95tj wrote

It's a lot simpler than that. The systems are not ready. If they had a turnkey system that could do it we'd have it.

It will eventually happen. Almost every grocery store has self checkout lanes now. But it took quite awhile. CVS finally got them in the last year.

Ditto for "driverless cars". Elon Musk keeps saying it's this year... eventually he will be right if he says it every year.

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acuriousmind19 t1_isfw4ie wrote

They could automate drive through ordering yesterday. They don't (and I'm speculating) because the economy is far more top-directed than we realize and "the powers that be" know that eliminating jobs too quickly will cause riots.

The Fed exists to create employment, and the Fed is what props up the stock market where the McDonalds of the world get their funding.

Henry Ford said that if the average person understood how the economy really works there would be riots, and I think this is a glimpse of that. The economy is not really about making money - these big, Fed linked companies, essentially get free money - the economy is really about control over the population and solidification of the class system, i.e. the economy is not necessarily about efficiency - it's about power, and the last thing the ruling class wants is revolution.

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poobearcatbomber t1_isfwphq wrote

I agree with a lot of that, but they keep cashiers because they need subs for cooks when they go on break and drive thru to hand the food over.

When robots gets a little further along we'll see a feasible shift.

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acuriousmind19 t1_isfxork wrote

I'm talking about the person who takes your order, but I agree that a few fast food jobs are irreplaceable - for now. I've notice that many chains still have not open their dining rooms back up. They are basically anticipating drive through to be like a giant vending machine. No humans other than to maybe stock the machine every week.

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poobearcatbomber t1_isfzy7v wrote

That is the future. If I was wealthy right now I would buy up a large restaurant in a nice area. Keep one kitchen and split it into 3 micro restaurants and rent the space out to three small businesses. 3 counters - no seating possibly a drive thru.

I am in tech/marketing design. I would offer all my services in exchange for profit percentage to get them all set up with a good brand, marketing and online ordering.

People want quick delivery/pickup, less interaction with affordable prices.

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