Bobby Chambers
IS 251
April 2, 2019
Pr. Tallon
McDonald’s New AI Investment
With over 36,000 locations worldwide serving more than 69 million people daily, the daily operations of McDonald’s involve a lot of manual labor. With some help from artificial intelligence and big data, these processes could very well become more efficient in the future. In the article McDonald’s is spending $300 million to be more like Amazon, it describes how this week, McDonald’s corporation announced plans to acquire the technology company Dynamic Yield Ltd for $300 million. This was McDonald’s largest acquisition in two decades since it acquired Chipotle. The technology will make ordering at McDonald’s a more customized experience for customers. Instead of the static menu that exists now, this technology will use artificial intelligence to learn consumer preferences and present a varied menu. It will take into account circumstances such as: “time of day, weather, current restaurant traffic and trending menu items”.
I believe that the importance of this move by McDonald’s is being somewhat overlooked by consumers. By making such a large investment in Artificial Intelligence, McDonald’s is showing how the role of AI will be increasingly omnipresent in the near future. By being the first fast food location to implement this kind of technology on such a large scale, other companies will soon be trying to catch up and implement similar technology. Before long, I believe that artificial intelligence will be implemented everywhere we go and affect everything we do. From the perspective of a consumer, this is an exciting thought. It will make the buying experience more personable and customizable. However, I also believe this increased focus on artificial intelligence by McDonald’s might prove detrimental to its employees. Already, McDonald’s is implementing self-serving kiosks for customers, removing the need for cashiers. With their new major investment in Dynamic Yield Ltd., McDonald’s is showing that they are nowhere near done finding new ways to implement technology. It is only a matter of time before the automated process of preparing food at McDonald’s is nearly entirely reliant on technology. This will make the process more efficient and faster but will also eliminate many minimum wage jobs that many people rely on for their income. Therefore, while McDonald’s continues to implement this technology, I believe they should still value their employees. They should utilize artificial intelligence to make the jobs of employees faster and more efficient, not replace their jobs. As long as the restaurant chain keeps this in mind, I believe that the implementation of this new technology is an exciting development that will improve the way technology shapes our daily lives.
Source: https://www.fastcompany.com/90325388/mcdonalds-tries-to-be-more-like-amazon-with-300-million-ai-bet
Video: https://youtu.be/wsBtRjiB4-o
4 comments:
I enjoyed reading your article about how McDonalds plans on incorporating more technology into its daily functions. I think a changing menu that changes most like based on some form of algorithm can be extremely effective in bringing in customers. I know that especially during the warmer summer months I tend to want different things that I do only colder winter winter days. This means McDonalds can focus more on popular food items and increase their quality of those items. Recently I read an article about how McDonalds was planning to use their new AI systems to further improve customer service through their McDonalds app. The article on CNBC discussed how McDonalds is planning on improving their App so that customers can order in advance and even have their food delivered. On this app they will use AI in order to decide which menu options to suggest to users based on their previous choice as well as using AI to order food in advance or order through the app while in store so that the customer can avoid the line. I believe that these are ways that McDonalds trying to catch up to companies such as Amazon who have already began using AI technology in this fashion.
One thing many people are worried about technology such as this is that it will eliminate many jobs for low skill workers at Mcdonalds. While in the short run this will be detrimental to alot of people the benefit of something such as this is that it can force people to srive for higher positions. Also those whos jobs will not be eliminated will likely make more money or at least recieve a stable pay rate because the company will be saving money in the long run.
McDonald’s, is one of, if not the, biggest fast food chains across the globe. Therefore, with a lot workers and customers constantly buying food items, there must be some kind of way to process the tons of data the business is receiving on a daily basis. Customers have already seen McDonald’s technological advancements when it presented its touch screen menu. This was designed to appeal to the customers and provide them with an easier ordering experience at time when the ordering line is too long.
McDonald’s is looking to improve their business even more, so I think it is smart that they are incorporating artificial intelligence into their work, as many other firms are starting to do. With McDonald’s constantly adding and changing items on their menu, having artificial intelligence to aid them it presenting customers with a varied menu that is accustomed to their preferences in food options is one of the smartest things they could have done. “The technology follows the lead of retailers like Amazon and Walmart that use mounds of data collected on their e-commerce sites to suggest items shoppers might want to buy,”. For example, in cold weather, McDonald’s will highlight their warm beverages like coffee or hot chocolate and on warmer days, they will try to get customers to buy their iced teas or smoothies. I agree that since McDonald’s has been the first fast food chain to implement this strategy, other fast food places will probably follow in their footsteps since they also want to be successful in knowing their customers’ wants.
You also make a good point about how although establishing artificial intelligence in the workplace will make the options more personalized, the more technology McDonald’s adopts, the more jeopardizing it is for the workers and their jobs. However, this may not be the case, and maybe artificial intelligence and workers will be able to work side by side in doing their jobs that need both parties’ assistance.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-mcdonalds-acquires-dynamic-yield-artificial-intelligence-20190325-story.html
In my opinion, out of most fast food chains, McDonald's has always managed to surpass competitors and stand as the 'head' of the fast food industry. While this may be my opinion, I believe it is an easily seen one. By this I mean that McDonald's understands ways to modernize itself and understands its reputation to customers. Recently, they have implemented mass renovations in their global locations as well as altering their menu and showing nutrition facts. Therefore, McDonald's understands that if it wants to keep its well known name and brand image, then AI is a proper step towards modernization. Customers have enjoyed newly renovated locations which include ambient lighting and subdued interiors, not the obnoxious red and yellow color scheme often used. Already, self-serving kiosks are impressive and while McDonald's may have cut back on employees, they still offer the option of face-to-face contact with an employee at a register for ordering. The self-serving kiosks offer convenience and specialization which not many fast food chains have, and are attempting to implement. So, McDonald's already having these is a representation of their advancements compared to competitors. I think the AI component of understanding the customer and circumstances like weather and traffic are genius. If a customer is late for work or school, and if it is snowing, they'd most likely want a hot coffee readily available. If a customer is pleased with their experience at McDonald's then it is a no brainer they will return. McDonald's as a global fast food chain has always fascinated me because I have visited locations in the US, London, France, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, and Hong Kong, and despite which culture they are catering to, they understand how to alter their menu and environment. In Hong Kong I visited McDonald's Next, which is a new part of the corporation, only existing in HK. The self serving kiosks offer toppings like caramelized onions, jalapeños, better quality beef and bread, a salad bar, and dessert bar for their McCafe area. McDonald's Next is the corporations 'test' at whether they have a genuine chance in competing against more artisanal chains like Smash Burger or Shake Shack that do not hold a fast food stigma. At McDonald's Next, your food is delivered to your table, and the interior resembles the metallic color scheme of a Chipotle; it is much more organized than a location found in your hometown. Overall, if McDonald's implemented AI in McDonald's Next I truly believe that its brand image would increase, potentially removing the chain from the idea of generic fast food. And therefore, McDonald's would be modernizing not only its appearance or menu, but its delivery.
There are many points Bobby made in his post which I found interesting and agreed with. I think McDonalds step into introducing artificial intelligence will both be very beneficial for the company but may in fact be detrimental to their employees. This brings up the conversation that using artificial intelligence within companies put many employees at risk and most importantly puts the employment in society at risk. I agree with the point Bobby made about AI within companies which is that it is all well and good for companies to use artificial intelligence in order to better their business but as Bobby said they should use this technology to help and assist their employees rather than replace them. By doing so we are putting ourselves at risk. We are the ones who are in control and say whether we want to implement this type of technology into our society which means we have control of whether we take away our own jobs or not.
Another interesting point Bobby made was when he said that from a perspective of a consumer the use of artificial intelligence will make the buying experience more personable and customizable. I think this was an interesting point because I thought it would be interesting to hear from a seller’s perspective do, they this think type of technology is exciting. By raising this question and trying to look at this situation from a seller’s point of view I began to think of what happens to companies that don’t tend to personalization and customization will they go out of business or have to completely rebrand themselves. I think for companies who want to implement AI into their business they will have to think of various different factors before doing so.
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