I think this is just an attempt to shoehorn the words “AI” in McDonald’s business plan in order to attract investors. What would they even use it for? I think developing and using AI for the applications they describe in the article would be too much hassle for little profit. Add in the notorious unreliability of AI, and you got a big McNothing Burger.

My days of never going to McD’s sure are coming to a middle

I DESPISE AI in fast food restaurants… as well as just about everywhere else… but in fast food it really pisses me off.

I crave salty trash food every once in a while, but when my local Taco Bell greeted me with an obviously AI drive-thru, I just drove away and never came back.

Fast food and retail were the places you went to get your first job with no experience or school necessary. Using AI to ‘take their jobs’ in the pursuit of ‘efficiency’ is just adding velocity to our plunge into dystopia. I mean no disrespect to those working those currently jobs, though, as the ‘were’ in that sentence is carrying a lot and the article is right that the jobs are stressful and relentless, and it angers me that your livelihood is yet again being threatened by corporate greed.

If there were compensating factors, like UBI, free higher education and better worker protections, then sure, let’s let “ai” take over the things that we don’t want to do… but I don’t think we’re going in that direction.

McDonald’s credits its success to giving customers a variety of menu items they love, served up quickly in what the company calls one of the best values in the market.*

Every other fast food place is either the same average price, or cheaper than McDonald’s while many traditional sit down restaurants are also the same price or cheaper. Best value my ass.

Another reason not to go there.