CKE Restaurants, the company which controls fast food chains Carl�s Jr. and
Hardee�s, announced on Thursday that the brands would use artificial
intelligence in their drive-thru systems at select locations across the
country.

Leading corporations and investors have poured considerable funds into
developing AI tools meant for consumer products and business solutions in
recent months. The two brands will incorporate Tori, an AI voice ordering
platform created by OpenCity, to increase �order accuracy� and create a
�significant impact to labor efficiencies,� according to a press release.

�The implementation of OpenCity�s AI technology at our drive-thru�s has
significantly benefited our business by enhancing the speed and accuracy of
order processing, resulting in reduced wait times for customers and increased
efficiency for our staff,� CKE Restaurants CTO Phil Crawford said. �The AI
technology has transformed our drive-thru experience, providing us with a
competitive edge in the market and helping us to better serve our guests.�

Customers who arrive at drive-thru lines can place their orders through a
�digital interaction� with Tori before they pay an employee for their meal,
thereby allowing associates to �focus more on providing better customer
service and preparing timely and freshly made orders.�

Carl�s Jr. and Hardee�s are two of several fast food restaurants to pivot
toward increased automation. McDonald�s partnered with IBM to automate
drive-thrus and unveiled voice-ordering technology at multiple Chicago
restaurants two years ago after purchasing several AI startups, while
Chipotle introduced a robotic chip machine in California after the state
passed a law to create a council with authority to raise fast food minimum
wages.

The trend occurs as labor shortages persist well after the lockdown-induced
recession: there are currently nearly two open positions for every unemployed
worker in the United States, according to data from the Bureau of Labor
Statistics released two months ago, increasing operational expenses for
businesses and contributing to broader inflationary pressures.

Tori integrates with existing point-of-sale and headset technology at
restaurants to take orders with �zero wait time,� according to a webpage from
OpenCity. The AI platform can also offer personalized recommendations to
increase the average revenue per order.

High Noon Restaurant Group, a franchisee for Popeyes based in Louisiana,
deployed the system last year, resulting in a 20% faster speed of service and
a 20% increase in satisfaction.

The rush for companies to implement AI solutions into their products and
services accelerated when ChatGPT, a mass-market AI chatbot capable of
writing computer code and emails in a matter of seconds, rapidly gained
popularity across the world. Microsoft, which invested billions of dollars
into ChatGPT creator OpenAI, announced that the system would be incorporated
into search engine Bing and internet browser Edge, while Google revealed that
Bard, an experimental conversational AI service, would soon be added to the
company�s search engine.

Some analysts have raised concerns about possible widespread technological
employment even as the novel AI applications create productivity increases
for workers and businesses. One recent forecast from Goldman Sachs predicted
that AI could eliminate 7% of positions in the United States, largely in
sectors that rely upon office work such as administrative support and legal,
while positions in sectors such as building and grounds maintenance,
construction, logistics, and healthcare support are predicted to remain
broadly intact.

--
Let's go Brandon!

On Fri, 05 May 2023 10:54:21 -0400, Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net>
wrote:

>The rush for companies to implement AI solutions into their products and
>services accelerated when ChatGPT, a mass-market AI chatbot capable of
>writing computer code and emails in a matter of seconds, rapidly gained
>popularity across the world. Microsoft, which invested billions of dollars
>into ChatGPT creator OpenAI, announced that the system would be incorporated
>into search engine Bing and internet browser Edge, while Google revealed that
>Bard, an experimental conversational AI service, would soon be added to the
>company’s search engine.

I asked Bard to write a poem about Carl's Jr.

Oh Carl’s Jr., my one true love,
Your burgers are so big and fat,
They fill me up with so much love,
I never want to eat them flat.

Your fries are so delicious,
They make my mouth water so,
I could eat them all day long,
And never get tired of them.

Your shakes are so creamy,
They make my taste buds sing,
I could drink them all day long,
And never get sick of them.

Oh Carl’s Jr., you are the best,
There is no one else like you,
I love you more than words can say,
You are my one true love.

Then I asked, Write a story about how Carl's Jr. saved someone's life.

I was in a dark place. I had lost my job, my girlfriend had left me,
and I was starting to feel like I was all alone in the world. I was
drinking too much and I was starting to think about suicide.

One day, I was driving down the street and I saw a Carl's Jr. sign. I
had never been to a Carl's Jr. before, but I was feeling desperate, so
I decided to go in.

I ordered a burger and fries and took a seat at a table. As I was
eating, I started to feel a little bit better. The food was delicious
and the people around me were friendly. I started to feel like I could
maybe start to turn my life around.

I went back to Carl's Jr. the next day and the day after that. I
started to eat there every day. The food was always good and the
people were always friendly. I started to feel like I had a place to
go where I belonged.

One day, I was sitting at my usual table when I saw a man sitting
across from me. He looked like he was in a lot of pain. I went over to
him and asked him if he was okay. He told me that he had just lost his
job and his wife had left him. He was feeling lost and hopeless.

I told him about my own struggles and how Carl's Jr. had helped me. He
listened to my story and he started to feel a little bit better. We
talked for a while and we became friends.

We started going to Carl's Jr. together every day. We would talk about
our problems and we would help each other through them. We became like
brothers.

One day, the man told me that he had gotten a new job and that he was
moving out of state. I was sad to see him go, but I knew that he was
going to be okay. He had found a new start and he had a new friend to
help him through it.

I'm still going to Carl's Jr. every day. It's my favorite place in the
world. It's the place where I found hope and friendship. It's the
place where I started to turn my life around.

On Fri, 05 May 2023 10:54:21 -0400, Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net>
wrote:

>CKE Restaurants, the company which controls fast food chains Carl’s Jr. and
>Hardee’s, announced on Thursday that the brands would use artificial
>intelligence in their drive-thru systems at select locations across the
>country.
>
>Leading corporations and investors have poured considerable funds into
>developing AI tools meant for consumer products and business solutions in
>recent months. The two brands will incorporate Tori, an AI voice ordering
>platform created by OpenCity, to increase “order accuracy” and create a
>“significant impact to labor efficiencies,” according to a press release.
>

If it does increase accuracy, McDonald's may want to look into
it.

>“The implementation of OpenCity’s AI technology at our drive-thru’s has
>significantly benefited our business by enhancing the speed and accuracy of
>order processing, resulting in reduced wait times for customers and increased
>efficiency for our staff,” CKE Restaurants CTO Phil Crawford said. “The AI
>technology has transformed our drive-thru experience, providing us with a
>competitive edge in the market and helping us to better serve our guests.”
>

I don't see how it would decrease wait times. It's the people
making and serving the food that determine the speed. Even if an AI
can shave off a few seconds in ordering time, it won't matter if the
people inside can't make and serve the food any faster.

>Customers who arrive at drive-thru lines can place their orders through a
>“digital interaction” with Tori before they pay an employee for their meal,
>thereby allowing associates to “focus more on providing better customer
>service and preparing timely and freshly made orders.”
>

Yeah... Using Tori won't have any real impact on times.

[...]

--
Be really good to your family and friends. You never know
when you are going to need them to empty your bedpan.