McDonald’s is removing artificial intelligence from its ordering process at drive-thrus across the country. A trial of the system, which was developed by IBM, uses voice recognition software to process orders, but it hasn’t been proven reliable. Instead, misinterpreted orders like bacon-topped ice cream and hundreds of dollars worth of McNuggets have clogged the system. The burger chain remains confident that the technology will still be part of its restaurant in the future. In the meantime, they continue to evaluate long-term solutions that will improve their voice ordering process. The technology has been controversial from the outset, with initial concerns surrounding the elimination of people’s jobs. However, it has become apparent that replacing human workers may not be as straightforward as people initially feared. People who have used the AI system and experienced its failure have taken to social media with their nightmare stories. One woman became exasperated when she attempted to convince AI that she wanted a caramel ice cream, only for it to add multiple stacks of butter to her order. Another person claims AI got her order confused with another one, resulting in 9 orders of tea being added to her bill. The end of this trial does not mean McDonald’s won’t use it in the future. The technology just has to be redesigned to work properly.
