McDonald's has suspended the use of voice-based artificial intelligence for taking orders because the system made a large number of errors that caused customer dissatisfaction.
Failed automation
Collaboration with IBM
McDonald's abandons artificial intelligence technology to automatically take orders at more than a hundred fast-food restaurants food. The latest service, developed jointly with IBM, did not live up to expectations and became the subject of lively discussion in social networks due to numerous flaws. Business Insider covered this issue.
Initially, the partners planned to introduce a voice ordering system to speed up service and increase guest satisfaction. However, the artificial intelligence was not perfect enough and made mistakes 15% of the time, forcing employees to manually correct every fifth order.
User reaction
Last year, the attention of TikTok users was attracted by videos of McDonald's customers trying to use the new system. They complained that the app was misinterpreting orders, adding extra products or mixing up items.
In one of the episodes, a visitor wanted to order water and a portion of vanilla ice cream, but the artificial intelligence unmotivatedly added four packets of ketchup and three portions of cream oils Another TikTok user told about a case when instead of one large portion of sweet iced tea, the system automatically added nine portions of the drink.
Perspectives of technology
Despite the end of cooperation with IBM in the field of automated orders, McDonald's does not abandon the use of the latest technologies. The company is convinced that voice systems will soon become the norm in the restaurant chain and will continue to optimize work processes with the latest methods.
IBM, in turn, is determined to develop cooperation with McDonald's in other directions and is looking for new partners among fast food establishments interested in automating orders.
Glossary
- McDonald's is a world-famous chain of fast food restaurants.
- IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) is an American technology corporation, a pioneer in the production of electronic computing devices.
- TikTok is a popular social platform for creating and viewing short videos.
- Business Insider is an American financial and economic website and one of the leading Internet publications.
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Answers to questions
Why did McDonald's abandon the artificial intelligence system for taking orders?
What was the original purpose of the collaboration between McDonald's and IBM?
What problems did you have while using the system?
Has the company completely abandoned the use of artificial intelligence in institutions?
What are the future plans for technology cooperation between McDonald's and IBM?
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Discussion of the topic – McDonald's abandons artificial intelligence due to the imperfection of the system
McDonald's is halting testing of an automated artificial intelligence system for taking orders at more than 100 restaurants due to a series of errors and strange situations that have gone viral online.
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Денис
Although McDonald's is discontinuing the AI system due to problems, I think it is the right decision 💯 It is better to admit your mistakes than to lose customers due to poor service. Have you noticed any flaws when ordering in fast food restaurants? 🤔
Анна
It seems to me that McDonald's was in too much of a hurry to implement such a system. They could have tested it better before launching it on the whole network 😕 I also noticed that the AI can't always get the accents or jokes right. So instead of making the process easier, it complicates it.
Карл
I understand that the company wants to optimize processes, but should it be done at the expense of quality? 🤨 Even 85% successful order recognition is not enough for fast food restaurants. The system must be as accurate as possible, otherwise customers will be disappointed.
Адам
In my opinion, AI is not ready for such tasks yet 😕 I've seen these error videos and they are really funny. But for a company that strives for quality service, such cases are unacceptable. McDonald's was wise to abandon an imperfect system. It is better to wait until the technology becomes more perfect.
Ґжеґож
These new technologies seem unnecessary to me 😒 Why spend money on complex systems when you can just hire skilled workers? They will always do their job better than machines. And these videos with AI errors only prove my point.
Анна
I disagree with you Grzegorz 🙅♀️ Technologies are evolving and companies need to keep up with the times. The only problem is that McDonald's implemented the system too early, without waiting for its perfection. But I am sure that in the future such decisions will become the norm and will make the work of the staff easier.
Ґжеґож
Well, I'm old and stubborn 😄 I have a hard time accepting new technology, especially when it doesn't work properly. But maybe you're right and I'm just ranting as always 🙃 Time will tell if AI can reach the level of replacing humans in the restaurant business.
Джон
I think McDonald's did the right thing to stop using the imperfect system 👍 But I hope they will continue to look for alternative solutions to optimize the work. For example, a self-service application could be implemented where customers can place orders themselves. This will avoid problems with voice recognition 🤖