A myth about manufacturing jobs is that they all went overseas. Reality is that most of them were replaced by robots and automation.
Low skill, low knowledge, repetitive work is key target for automation.
Fast food workers wouldn't have large downstream effects. Automated truck driving would though. There are likely entire towns right off of highways that depend on humans passing through daily - restaurants, repair shops, etc. If automated trucks don't stop anymore, a town could literally be a ghost town.
Hey this is Brian -- I wrote the article. I do want to add that Chick-fil-A isnt looking to replace jobs with "robots". We really want to assign our restaurant team members to tasks that add maximum value to customers, which are generally service oriented (iPad in Drive Thru, personal service in the dining room, etc). Our automation will help our team members be more effecient and enjoy their jobs more rather than replace them.
Of all places I doubt CFA would replace workers, having nice, helpful people is the second awesome-est thing there (chicken and waffle fries tops that).
I can see the automation and analytics helping staff appropriately and offer more options for efficiency and waste reduction.
I think you hit the bullseye here, because the tasks you highlighted simply aren't done at most other QSRs. They are novel ways to apply human labor to fast food (at least, novel within their competitive space).
I may be alone on this one, but if Chick Fil A automated most of their workers, I would stop eating there. Part of the reason I go there is I am always impressed at just how good they are at customer service. There isn't another fast food restaurant that even comes close that I know of.
I hate talking to machines, I hate talking to automated voice menus instead of getting actual assistance from a human being. I hate ordering stuff online and dealing with slight one off cases. The google Ai assistant had me cringing for weeks. I especially have a deep hatred for self checkout lines. They can all burn in hell.
Low skill, low knowledge, repetitive work is key target for automation.
Fast food workers wouldn't have large downstream effects. Automated truck driving would though. There are likely entire towns right off of highways that depend on humans passing through daily - restaurants, repair shops, etc. If automated trucks don't stop anymore, a town could literally be a ghost town.