OH! I just posted that it seemed like a parody. haha. I was had

The article is so weird. It almost reads like a parody. Interviewed unemployed fast food worker:

“The McDonald’s had my resume, I already completed two job interviews there and they said I was scheduled to work once the new store opened but they never called,” Waddams said. “I need a job I said, and I was told by Betty in HR they have my resume on file, but they never called, and Sandra told me to talk to Bill, and then I hear of the robots instead of regular humans and that’s not what I asked for. And I need the job I told them, but there’s robots, so now I’m going to have to find another place of employment. And they were big giant robots, and I said no, no robots at McDonald’s. I could set the building on fire.”

radicalbill, check out the CNN article. There are some differences, it is more about the evolving use of automation. But the implications are there, although, if a UPS driver-less truck arrives, what does it do, dump the box on the ground, or sit and bleet until someone comes press a button. That would be kinda weird. Again, the satire is indeed there, the CNN article was a year ago.

IronMan:: It was sourced from CNN (well, maybe they are all in the same catagory of website): but it seems this is a legitimate report as far as the idea):

http://money.cnn.com/2014/05/22/technolo...

Again the satire is indeed there, the article was written a year ago.

Here is one from the Guardian, I do not know their quality, but seems to indicate this is an ongoing issue that pops up regularly:

http://www.theguardian.com/money/us-mone...

The Automat of now.

Ed, unless they implement a 90% tax rate, the system will collapse a long time before that. I think one of the reasons we have had the strange turn in society is the 93 million number. While there is nothing wrong in working retail, it is the end of the manufacturing line, therefore does not encourage creation of both innovative products or processes. That stagnates things. I am more afraid of the mob psychology taking over at some point, you have seen how easy it is to do in Ferguson and Baltimore: "We are oppressed cause you haven't given us what we want". When those retail jobs go, what else will cascade?

Love it, I knew it was coming from the first $15/hour protest. The company based out of SF has been perfecting a burger cooking machine that does everything. It does the cooking, buns, toppings cut at the right time and assembly. the only thing it needs is someone to add the required ingredients and maintenance. However, you could install several and that way when one goes down, the others pick up the slack. Supposedly they had it up to around several hundred per hour.

As with most satire, there is enough truth in it to allow many to think it is real.

News Examiner is a satirical web site.

That said the kiosks are real. My company (well the one I work for) is producing the prototypes for these.

The value is not completely driven by obsoleting $15/hour moochers. There is also an increase in per transaction sales. The kiosk never forgets to ask you to Super Suze the order of if you want an apple pie.

This article may not be completely factual yet, but automation of whole segments of the fast food process is coming fast. Add the automation in the article below to automated delivery, and you won't need many people.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-01-12...

This is a joke. It is based on the movie Office Space. This is not real. Why did no one figure this out? Robots can not make hamburgers. Making a Big Mac is a challenge even for a human. They are not easy. No Joke!!!

Well, what do you know.

But that's the idea. Paying someone thirty thousand dollars a year just to be a short-order cook is never economically viable. Or if it is, that tells us the dollar isn't worth beans.

How about this for irony. I love the opening on July 4th, "Independence Day" Independence from MOOCHERS!!! and MORONS, and the uneducated clowns who think that flipping burgers is a career.

"Phoenix, AZ — After seeing a decline in earnings for the first time in nine years, McDonald’s plans to do something no other store of its kind has ever done before; open a store run entirely by robots.

The store is set to open July 4th in Phoenix, Arizona ..."

All 4 of my children worked at McDs through high school. They say it was a great education on discipline, people skills etc. All 4 now make a 6 figure income and they give partial credit to McDs.

I agree. What will it be like in this country after the retail jobs are gone? Today 93 million out of the workforce, tomorrow 193 million. Scary thought what this country will look like with virtually no-one working, all living off the government dole. :(

I recall when I started my business career in NYC many buildings had elevator operators and as time went by they were replaced with automatic elevators and naturally many of the older operators were angry about being replaced. That said, people had to be trained to build automatic elevators and those jobs paid much more than the minimum wage. If the robots are built in the USA then the builders will be paid a higher wage to make the robots.However i suspect that the robots are made out of the country compliments of the USA government causing that to happen as it has many industries; leave the country. These $15.00 an hour protesters really don't want the jobs but welfare anyway.

Definitely. I've already paid with those little kiosks in Red Robin and in Applebees. You can also order your food and drinks and desserts. Ultimately, even in the restaurants a little more upscale than mcdonald's (like these chains - Applebees, TGIF, etc.), they will only need a person to bring the food to your table.

It's a parody, a la Office Space...
Though not a bad idea!

Heck if this works out maybe the WH, Congress, and the Supreme Court will be next:-)

This appears to be parody -- for now.

Ah, but I can still smell those hot dogs! A couple of dogs with raw kraut, French fries and a Nehi! That was the life!