Burger-flipping robot begins first shift

Humor settings, seventy-five percent....

Confirmed.
Self destruct sequence in T minus 10, 9, 8, 7...

originally posted by: SaturnFX

originally posted by: Aazadan
Automation is going to happen, people cannot work cheaply enough to prevent it.

Indeed, many chinese plants who pay their employees pennys a hour are replacing the employees with robots because...cheaper.

It soon really will be the society of haves and have nots.

but..if nobody has money, who will buy the burgers

It won't be hard to find meaning outside of work, only a small portion of society is brainwashed into believing what a person does for work matters more than anything else.

I love my downtime and would have no issue doing it full-time , I've had arguments with people about it and some tell me they don't know what they would do with themselves if they didn't have a job... To them I say... Grow an imagination..

Having worked at McD's years ago, I feel the need to point out that the burgers haven't actually needed anyone to flip them for a long time. The grills are "clamshells" and they cook the burgers on both sides at the same time. So the employees are just needed to put the meat on the grill, close the grill and put the meat in the tray.

Unfortunately, sometimes the management is too cheap to replace the nonstick sheets that keep the burgers from sticking to the top potion when it raises up. I think it will be a while before they find a robot that knows what to do when that happens.

Anyway, most of the labor in a fast food joint is everything that isn't flipping burgers. Takes a bunch of people to keep everything stocked (buns and so forth) and put the sandwiches together. The biggie is special orders. Even humans get the special orders wrong half the time. "No! I said I wanted EXTRA pickles! Not no pickles!"

At any rate, the hardest job in a fast food joint is taking orders and dealing with obnoxious customers. The turnover in the store I worked at was all in the cashiers and order takers. Most of the people who worked in the grill area stayed there for years, as it was relatively easy work for the money. When they screwed up, they just had one person to answer to (the manager). The customers didn't get in their faces and yell at them.

originally posted by: Aazadan
a reply to: Krakatoa

Pay raises have nothing to do with this. It was cheaper under the old wage already. These robots cost about $2/hour to run, no one can work for that price. So it's coming. The $15/hour minimum wage battle is already over too, and it lost. By the time it is implemented, inflation will have already kicked it to $25/hour being needed.

Automation is going to happen, people cannot work cheaply enough to prevent it.

But there are still more people than there are decent jobs (and we keep making more). And the burgers aren't getting cheaper.

The math doesn't work. Not everyone can be an engineer or a computer programmer. So what do we do when we have a few million decent jobs, no low end jobs and 500 million people who aren't smart enough to tie their shoes?

originally posted by: BrianFlanders

originally posted by: Aazadan
a reply to: Krakatoa

Pay raises have nothing to do with this. It was cheaper under the old wage already. These robots cost about $2/hour to run, no one can work for that price. So it's coming. The $15/hour minimum wage battle is already over too, and it lost. By the time it is implemented, inflation will have already kicked it to $25/hour being needed.

Automation is going to happen, people cannot work cheaply enough to prevent it.

But there are still more people than there are decent jobs (and we keep making more). And the burgers aren't getting cheaper.

The math doesn't work. Not everyone can be an engineer or a computer programmer. So what do we do when we have a few million decent jobs, no low end jobs and 500 million people who aren't smart enough to tie their shoes?

Either we reduce the expected work week and hire more people or we fund a UBI from those who do have jobs and give people a living wage in return for existing.

One way I think we could fund a UBI is to take robots, kiosks, etc... and give them public ownership, and a fraction of the profits they generate goes back to public funding.

On the education side of things, it's time we recognize that 4 years for a college degree isn't enough. Decent jobs you need an education for are more along the lines of needing 10 years minimum. If you're not willing to commit to that length of time, you shouldn't be encouraged to goto college.

a reply to: Krakatoa

So freaking stupid...I worked at Carl's Jr. as a mid-teen in California (the company that bought out Hardeez, for those who know that restaurant better), and we always had this equivalent, although it was a conveyer belt that moved the patties and chicken over an open flame.

It seems that it would be much easier, both for maintenance and health reasons, to switch to an open-flame conveyor cooking method than invest in something so silly.

But, hey, many people pretend that greasy half-meat basically fried in its own melted fat tastes better, but I would disagree. To each their own, I suppose.

Arise technofascism and automation, this is the "progress" people worship!

a reply to: FamCore

That was SLOW!

I am not an all star bartender, but I could kick thats robots ass making drinks and carry a conversation with my guests.

Humans are old but not obsolete.

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

originally posted by: SaturnFX

originally posted by: Aazadan
Automation is going to happen, people cannot work cheaply enough to prevent it.

Indeed, many chinese plants who pay their employees pennys a hour are replacing the employees with robots because...cheaper.

It soon really will be the society of haves and have nots.

but..if nobody has money, who will buy the burgers

It won't be hard to find meaning outside of work, only a small portion of society is brainwashed into believing what a person does for work matters more than anything else.

I love my downtime and would have no issue doing it full-time , I've had arguments with people about it and some tell me they don't know what they would do with themselves if they didn't have a job... To them I say... Grow an imagination..

You realize you can have all the downtime you want right now, right? just stop going to work, bam...downtime.

The issue is lack of money...people aren't gonna be giving those burgers away for free, but if you don't have any cash to buy em, you're gonna go hungry.

I somewhat agree with the idea that the ultimate goal of any civilized society should be to eliminate the need for people to work at all unless they want to. Human beings have always had a love-hate relationship with work. Biblically, having to work is a curse from God because we dared to become self-aware. On the other hand, society rewards people who have succeeded in their chosen professions, and people tend to gauge their value as a person by the kind of work they do or how much money they make. It fills them with pride and self-esteem. The Calvinists thought that obvious and outward success was a clear indication that you had the grace of God with you. A lot of cultures around the world still feel the need to display their wealth and success to their neighbors to show their superiority and how they are favored by fate.

As much as I like to be lazy and do nothing, I am still nagged in the back of my mind that I'm being "lazy" and should "do something constructive." If I didn't have to work, rather than being driven to be successful in a prestigious job, it would be nice and much easier to just have that voice go away.

originally posted by: SaturnFX

originally posted by: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

originally posted by: SaturnFX

originally posted by: Aazadan
Automation is going to happen, people cannot work cheaply enough to prevent it.

Indeed, many chinese plants who pay their employees pennys a hour are replacing the employees with robots because...cheaper.

It soon really will be the society of haves and have nots.

but..if nobody has money, who will buy the burgers

It won't be hard to find meaning outside of work, only a small portion of society is brainwashed into believing what a person does for work matters more than anything else.

I love my downtime and would have no issue doing it full-time , I've had arguments with people about it and some tell me they don't know what they would do with themselves if they didn't have a job... To them I say... Grow an imagination..

You realize you can have all the downtime you want right now, right? just stop going to work, bam...downtime.

The issue is lack of money...people aren't gonna be giving those burgers away for free, but if you don't have any cash to buy em, you're gonna go hungry.

If only the haves have money the burger business would fail anyway so it's a moot point.

a reply to: Krakatoa

Food preparation, no matter whether it is done in a Michelin starred eatery, or by a short order cook in the middle of Frogballs Arkansas (to borrow an example of the middle of nowhere from the late, great George Carlin) is NEVER low skilled work. It might be low paid, but the skill involved is never low. It takes concentration and skill to ensure that food is prepared to the best possible standards of health and hygiene, and in such a way that it tastes good and looks great. There are MANY establishments whose kitchen operatives will never win an award, or attract the attention of high table food critics for good reasons, but whose expertise and talent in the kitchen are beyond any doubt at all.

I think it is HIGHLY inappropriate to suggest that burger flippers (who are never just burger flippers, but also the people who know just how crispy batter ought to be, what consistency it ought to be before being applied to the fryer, how thick it needs to be applied to the meat or other food it is applied to, in order to achieve the perfect end result, who are also the people who know just how much seasoning needs to be in this mixture, how much hot sauce should go on this foodstuff, or how much paprika into that sauce), are as low skilled as their pay would indicate.

Many of the people working in eateries of the sort featured on shows like Drive Ins, Diners and Dives, Man vs Food, and other such shows, are precisely the sort of people who stand to be removed from the equation by machinery like this over the coming decades, and no one who has ever actually operated their tastebuds before, would tell you that those people, and the gastronomic delights they provide, are deserving of either your low opinion of them, or indeed being cycled out in favour of a passionless robot.

It broke down after a day.
Remember the luddites!.

originally posted by: Aazadan

originally posted by: BrianFlanders

originally posted by: Aazadan
a reply to: Krakatoa

Pay raises have nothing to do with this. It was cheaper under the old wage already. These robots cost about $2/hour to run, no one can work for that price. So it's coming. The $15/hour minimum wage battle is already over too, and it lost. By the time it is implemented, inflation will have already kicked it to $25/hour being needed.

Automation is going to happen, people cannot work cheaply enough to prevent it.

But there are still more people than there are decent jobs (and we keep making more). And the burgers aren't getting cheaper.

The math doesn't work. Not everyone can be an engineer or a computer programmer. So what do we do when we have a few million decent jobs, no low end jobs and 500 million people who aren't smart enough to tie their shoes?

Either we reduce the expected work week and hire more people or we fund a UBI from those who do have jobs and give people a living wage in return for existing.

One way I think we could fund a UBI is to take robots, kiosks, etc... and give them public ownership, and a fraction of the profits they generate goes back to public funding.

On the education side of things, it's time we recognize that 4 years for a college degree isn't enough. Decent jobs you need an education for are more along the lines of needing 10 years minimum. If you're not willing to commit to that length of time, you shouldn't be encouraged to goto college.

I think we should just ban having babies. Of course that'll never happen because it makes too much sense.

originally posted by: BrianFlanders
I think we should just ban having babies. Of course that'll never happen because it makes too much sense.

We should at the very least have people go to a class to learn how to take care of them, and then show proof that they are financially responsible enough to raise one.

We do it with cars, we should do it with guns, and we definitely should do it with babies. They're all dangerous in different ways.

originally posted by: Blue Shift

originally posted by: BrianFlanders
I think we should just ban having babies. Of course that'll never happen because it makes too much sense.

We should at the very least have people go to a class to learn how to take care of them, and then show proof that they are financially responsible enough to raise one.

We do it with cars, we should do it with guns, and we definitely should do it with babies. They're all dangerous in different ways.

Well, if you think about it, the population (globally) is beyond out of control. Even in first world countries there are FAR more people than we know what to do with.

At the end of the day, the only think most of those people are producing is jobs for prison employees and other such people who make a living dealing with the issues associated with overpopulation. That's really what prison is. That's really why homelessness is a significant problem. That's why most crime happens. There are just too damn many people.

You'll see the POTUS stand up there and talk about mental illness and so forth but you'll probably never see him look into the camera and tell stupid people to stop making babies.