Robots are coming to the kitchen − what that could mean for society and culture
https://theconversation.com/robots-are-coming-to-the-kitchen-what-that-could-mean-for-society-and-culture-237000
Robots are coming to the kitchen − what that could mean for society and culture
https://theconversation.com/robots-are-coming-to-the-kitchen-what-that-could-mean-for-society-and-culture-237000
21 Comments
From the article
>Automated kitchens aren’t sci-fi visions from “The Jetsons” or “Star Trek.” The technology is [real](https://www.axios.com/2024/06/11/restaurant-technology-robots-food-ramen) and %5Bglobal%5D(https://www.forbes.com/sites/daphneewingchow/2024/03/31/here-are-five-global-restaurants-staffed-by-robot-chefs/). Right now, robots are used to [flip burgers](https://foodondemand.com/07102024/a-behind-the-scenes-look-at-the-robot-run-restaurant-caliexpress-by-flippy/), [fry chicken](https://abc7ny.com/post/robot-chefs-are-cooking-food-101-chicken-korean/15071977/), [create pizzas](https://thespoon.tech/meet-pzza-the-latest-pizza-robot-built-by-a-rocket-scientist/), [make sushi](https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Food-Beverage/Don-t-look-now-but-your-next-sushi-chef-could-be-a-robot), [prepare salads](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sweetgreen-robots-to-make-salad/), [serve ramen](https://sfstandard.com/2023/04/13/this-ramen-vending-machine-serves-tasty-tonkotsu-with-the-efficiency-of-a-japanese-bullet-train-almost/), [bake bread](https://thespoon.tech/four-years-after-ces-breadbots-robotic-breadmaker-is-dishing-out-loaves-at-grocery-stores/), [mix cocktails](https://www.scrippsnews.com/science-and-tech/artificial-intelligence/these-robots-can-make-you-coffee-cocktails-you-name-it) and much more. AI can [invent recipes](https://www.dishgen.com/) based on the [molecular](https://theaicuisine.com/ai-and-molecular-gastronomy-a-match-made-in-the-kitchen/) %5Bcompatibility%5D(https://ai.sony/blog/AI-Assisted-Recipe-Creation-Concept-Video/) of ingredients or whatever a kitchen has [in](https://bgr.com/tech/samsungs-new-ai-powered-fridge-looks-at-your-food-to-suggest-recipes/) %5Bstock%5D(https://www.buzzfeed.com/rossyoder/ai-recipe-generator). More advanced concepts are in the works to automate the [entire](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48x04OgLYnw) [kitchen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKCVol2iWcc) for fine dining.
>Since technology tends to be expensive at first, the early adopters of AI kitchen technologies are restaurants and other businesses. Over time, prices are likely to fall enough for the [home market](https://www.pastemagazine.com/tech/gadgets/nymble-and-chefee-are-prepped-for-the-robot-chef-rise), possibly changing both home and societal dynamics.
>Can food technology really change society? Yes, just consider the [seismic impact](https://historyoftech.mcclurken.org/microwave/the-impact/) of the [microwave oven](https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/snapshot/microwave-oven). With that technology, it was suddenly possible to make a quick meal for just one person, which can be a benefit but also a social disruptor
I have a crockpot, an Instant Pot, and a bread maker. The robots are already here.
Yea…. obviously the robots haven’t worked in a real restaurant. Doubt one would last 2 weeks with out getting pissed off at customer’s bullshit and quitting.
Can’t wait for the new “Robot Maintenance” fees on our checks!
yeah, some silicon valley moron tried that already and it was shit
I’ve had robots brewing my coffee and washing my dishes for me for decades
> seismic impact of microwave oven
Yeah, and thanks to this we have people eating cheap shit daily, almost purely made from artificial chemicals that are ruining their health, and healthy food is more expensive than ever.
Robots placing things in ovens and setting timers and what not I could see.
Pan frying items, “plate presentation”, and grilling would be interesting.
Excuse me waiter, but I think this is WD40 in my eggs.
Think after the robots job he will spend his pay check at the restaurant or eat at home?
When can AI and robots start threatening Executives and politicians jobs for a change?
I’ve been thinking for a while that a restaurant with a broad menu of dishes by world renowned chefs, all reproduced with consistent accuracy by a kitchen full of robots would be cool. You could hire chefs to teach your robots or use footage of the chefs and AI recognition software to train your robots to make 7 to 10 dishes. Start with 3 or so chefs and then add new chefs selections seasonally, pulling some chefs selections here and there to add them back later like some kind of culinary streaming service.
All it really means is artisans,craftsmen, chefs,woodworkers etc. will be high paying jobs in the future as everything that is mass produced is made for failure so more can be mass produced for failure,hand made better attention to ingredients,satisfying results,so at one point only those who give less than a damn about civility will be able to afford,I believe at this point the masses will begin to work within there collective,remember the fruit man? As I was growing up they were the most popular people in poor communities,food co ops have to come back. Super mega mass production only helps those on top.
They can make factory-quality food, but without an advanced sense of smell how could they really do a great job?
Society shift.
What do.
Plastic in our Brains plastic In our balls, some want us arguing about/with suits and overalls.
HOME HOME ON THE RAAAAANGE.
This is inevitable. Line cooking is drudgery. The process goal for a successful restaurant is a consistently good customer experience with well managed costs such as food, utilities and labor. An AI robot may make this goal more easily attainable. The overwhelming majority of restaurants are gone in five years or less, including chains because this management challenge is hard. The problem for higher end experiences is can a chef’s expertise and judgment be easily transferred to a robot? This is the knowledge acquisition problem and it is as old as computers. However, for franchise standardized foods the issue will be customizations, but since the menu and the options are finite, this should be manageable. If we don’t have robots in the majority of successful restaurants within ten years, I will be shocked. Even in high end restaurants, some repetitive tasks such as ingredient prep and standard offerings such as soups and sauces are begging for automation.
I cook a lot at home due to food allergies. I turn cooking into chemistry with a focus on consistency, using strict measurements and constant cooking times as much as possible, but there are always variables such as the size of a vegetable or the shape of a fish fillet that affect cooking times and the balance of ingredients. If I could get an AI kitchen bot that could learn my recipes and automatically adjust for variation in ingredients, I would buy it tomorrow. I would still cook to try out new things, but once perfected I would happily automate a recipe or dish.
Cool. Freelance artists, musicians, copy writers, chefs…. Exactly the kinds of jobs we as a society wanted to automate away /s
I rather think that kitchens in homes will be made obsolete. When you can have automated kitchens elsewhere that can make basically any dish for cheap and then have it delivered by drone, then kitchens in homes will be repurposed for other things. I see this mostly happening in big citys where space is an issue, probably it will mean smaller apartments mostly, but hopefully that means cheaper rent (one can dream).
when I first got my roomba, I felt like I was part of the future. Then I did the math. It takes me 20 minutes to move all the stuff off the floor, so the roomba can sweep. The dust bin only holds 1 room’s worth of dirt, and the battery charge only lasts for 2 rooms, so factor in a wait time of 2 hours to recharge and dump the dirt. Anything bigger than a pebble can’t be picked up.
One problem with the roomba is that it often gets stuck, behind a door, or on the floor vent covers. Then you have to find it, reset it, and wait some more. But the biggest problem is, it cannot clean in corners, and that is where most of your dirt is!
Bottom line, the roomba doesn’t save time at all. I can sweep the entire house, including corners, in 20 minutes. Roomba takes an average of 2 hours.
“are used” does heavy lifting here. By who? What’s the cost? To what extent is this outside of the lab?
a restaurant is like a food factory. it’s hard, demanding job. i’m all in favour of robots taking hard jobs from people (in theory. given what the world is like, it’d probably mean more poverty for proletariat)