This vision has been presented to us for decades, either in films, books, or other works. However, for the last few years, we have been witnessing the slow fulfillment of this vision, whether we like it or not, we must finally accept that the world is moving forward and changing. The question is if it is in the right direction and what impact this will have on people and workers.
It seems to me that replacing humans with robots at work in fast-food restaurants will become more and more popular and more companies will accept it. There are many positive arguments for the owners. You will have to invest in a robot once and then only service it from time to time. A robot will perform simple tasks much faster and more accurately than a human. Their work is more effective and they do not get tired and do not need rest. Robots will also always behave in the same way towards customers, there is no question of injustice or treating anyone worse. Employees will not need to be trained, nor will time be wasted on hiring them or settling accounts with them. Customers will also be happy because they come there to eat something quickly, and if the efficiency and speed of serving food improve then they will not complain about it. A good question is also whether people after the events with the virus will want to return to live restaurants at all. Maybe most people are already used to ordering everything home and that convenience.
On the other hand, such robots will certainly not be cheap at the beginning, and this will probably change with time if they become more and more popular, but there must be people who will invest in them first. The cost of powering them may also be high, energy consumption would certainly increase, and with it come higher costs and non-ecological activities. In addition, many people would lose their jobs, which may not be their dream jobs, but can always give freedom and permission to make a living and develop further.
The revolution to replace humans with robots in the workplace began many years ago. Starting with simple calculations, through more and more demanding tasks, up to regular physical work. Although it is not visible at first glance, today many activities are not executed by ourselves but by machines and technology, and we have managed to get used to it. I would say, even more, we can’t imagine life without them anymore, so getting used to further changes is only a matter of time.
Sources:
https://fortune.com/2021/11/29/fast-food-robots-labor-shortage-automation-pandemic/
https://www.cnet.com/news/flippy-the-fast-food-robot-makes-fries-at-white-castle-gets-an-upgrade/
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/22/restaurants-looking-for-labor-and-speed-turn-to-robots-.html
I believe that implementing robots in the fast-food industry would not solve the problem of training and paying money to regular workers (their number may decrease but a little) because instead of learning how to serve or prepare food they would need to learn how to support the effectiveness of these robots. It means that it may be beneficial for the owners in the long run, but they need to take into account possible expenses on additional trainings and repairments.