The Expert Podcast

A couple of years ago, we did a video about a device, a contraption we saw at a McDonald's drive-through. Here's an example of it: a little carousel with these little black cups right here. It goes around this little racetrack-type device, and it’s at the drive-through. So, when somebody orders a meal at the McDonald's drive-through, it goes into the computer, and this system automatically drops a cup from one of these tubes up here into this holder. It goes in front of this little drink dispenser, and it automatically dispenses whatever kind of drink is on that order. It then rolls it out into the area where the worker puts it in this little holder for the drinks.

At the time, we looked at it and said, well, it doesn't automate the whole process, but it does take away a very small slice of time that the worker has to do. They don’t have to get the cup, put it in front of the dispenser, fill it up, and put the top on it—it’s all done automatically. And that one little slice of time, a thousand times a day, might save many hours' worth of work. But we questioned whether or not this was going to lead to other automations within McDonald's that might cut jobs.

Fast forward to today, two years later, and it seems like that prediction has come true. According to this article that came out a couple of days ago, December 24th, McDonald's unveils its first automated location, where it will cut millions of jobs. Customers will fully avoid interaction with any human beings during their order and pickup. All of the processes are done using automation. When you start with something like this, where you automate one little slice, and then you have another machine that does something else, maybe something that puts the ketchup on the fries, whatever it is, you end up with automation and jobs that are not necessarily critical to have human interaction. They go the way of the dinosaur, and it may cut millions of jobs, according to this article.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you see this in your employment environment? Do you see this in your business? Do you see this as a consumer? Is it a good thing or a bad thing? If you’re a consumer, is it good because maybe it’ll cut costs and might make it easier to get service? Because these days, one of the reasons it’s hard to get service is because there are no employees. Or is it a bad thing because you, or your friends, or your relatives might lose jobs? Which is it? Is it a good thing or a bad thing to automate more, and what does it hold for the future of culture and also business development?