KFC has also been trialling an AI voice ordering assistant<\/a> named \u2018Kacy\u2019 at selected drive-thru locations in Sydney.<\/p>\nRestaurants in the United States are also jumping on the software, with McDonald\u2019s, Wendy\u2019s, Taco Bell and Dairy Queen among those to roll out AI to drive-thru lanes.<\/p>\n
Last year, roughly 5 per cent of fast food locations in the US used voice AI technology in the drive-thru, according to Intouch Insight\u2019s annual Drive Thru Survey. Early research suggests that figure has now risen to 6 per cent.<\/p>\n
Junior jobs first to be hit by AI, expert says<\/p>\n
Hungry Jack\u2019s use of AI drive-thru assistants has left many to question where that leaves millions of fast-food workers and young people looking for jobs. <\/p>\n
\u201cOh hell no! Kids need jobs,\u201d one person said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese jobs [are] where our kids can get their first work experience for their resumes and uni students can earn around study. What are our kids going to do in the future now?\u201d another said.<\/p>\n
Another commentator claimed they worked at Hungry Jack\u2019s and there was a competition among workers to \u201cbeat Jacki the AI by upselling hash browns for $2 and 4 nuggets for $3\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going to lose our jobs because of this,\u201d they claimed.<\/p>\n
Niusha Shafiabady, professor in computational intelligence at Australian Catholic University, told news.com.au she expects junior jobs will be the ones \u201chit first\u201d by AI.<\/p>\n
But she doesn\u2019t think we will see \u201cmass sackings\u201d across the workforce.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think AI will suddenly wipe out the whole of some professions. What will happen is, first, AI will replace parts of jobs. Then companies will need fewer people to do the same amount of work,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo the real issue is not always job replacement; it is workforce compression. The first jobs that may be hit first are junior jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cCompanies may still need lawyers, accountants, engineers, and programmers, but they may need far fewer junior people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prof Shafiabady said this created another problem: Where do future professionals come from if we stop training juniors?<\/p>\n
When it comes to fast-food retailers like Hungry Jack\u2019s, Prof Shafiabady said entry-level jobs could be at risk but it would ultimately depend on the strategy the corporation has in place and the cost of producing robots to do the job.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf someone offers a press-of-a-button type of coffee, that would be so easy to replace; it doesn\u2019t really need a proper robot. But if you want to create a robot to make Italian-quality coffee, that might be more difficult,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I think about creating a robot that makes hamburgers, it\u2019s not that difficult, to be honest. You can just cut the bread, put the cheese in, and frying the patty is not that difficult \u2014 you just turn it around. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo it might be at risk, if you ask my opinion.\u201d <\/p>\n
White-collar jobs not \u2018safer\u2019 from AI<\/p>\n
Prof Shafiabady said the reality was white-collar jobs weren\u2019t necessarily \u201csafer\u201d from AI either.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used to think physical jobs would appear first, and AI changes that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAI is very good at knowledge that has already been written down. For example, things that are fixed like regulations, manuals, policies, textbooks, financial rules, legal cases, computer code.\u201d <\/p>\n
According to data from Jobs and Skills Australia, retail managers, checkout operators and cashiers, clerks, software programmers, accountants, receptionists, and advertising and marketing professionals are among the occupations \u201cmost exposed\u201d to being replaced by AI.<\/p>\n
Occupations deemed the \u201cleast exposed\u201d included trades like electricians, carpenters, plumbers and metal fitters, along with carers, truck drivers, commercial cleaners and forklift drivers.<\/p>\n
Prof Shafiabady said jobs that \u201csit betwen two computer systems\u201d, such as insurance claim processes, HR coordinators, purchasing officers, booking staff, sales administrators, compliance staff, or back-office banking staff, were particularly exposed.<\/p>\n
She also expects some middle management work may shrink, while outsourced office jobs could be \u201chit hard\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cJobs are safer when they involve physical work or unpredictable environments, if we need human trust in them, or if they involve negotiation and responsibility,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Prof Shafiabady said she expects more retailers would likely follow Hungry Jack\u2019s move and introduce AI assistants, but it may still be \u201csome time\u201d before fast-food jobs are completely taken over in Australia.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a different story from countries like the US that are very competitive. In countries like the US, it\u2019s more likely that these systems come to the market and takeover those types of jobs faster,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere we have a different system. It would be a different story and take some time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Aussie man has shared his bizarre experience being served by an AI assistant at a Hungry Jack\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":596027,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[293728,293776,293747,293691,293713,293757,293673,293764,293687,293676,293711,293754,23968,25490,2325,293688,293705,293678,293739,293697,293767,287980,293734,52332,365,293749,293717,17692,293746,293730,293686,293759,265806,293680,293741,293722,293714,293779,293693,363,364,2731,85,53581,24369,293718,8556,52545,293704,14900,4381,210396,293750,293737,47548,22005,293682,1601,293694,88857,293719,293699,293777,293690,293724,28164,293768,9058,293781,293763,293760,48950,293707,293774,293689,293780,293681,293698,85429,293732,293685,22259,293677,293708,232,293762,293700,293715,293761,10169,1899,31488,21142,293684,293720,31271,4380,293679,293753,111,265357,139,293765,69,39653,293706,293692,293773,293745,293772,293775,17711,384,6744,293766,16413,17146,7192,11393,293748,293683,293751,293725,1414,293731,383,293738,293756,10171,145,265668,293770,293735,281668,293752,293709,265789,293755,293703,271612,293729,268177,291566,265807,293723,293778,293744,293727,293758,293742,291944,293726,293771,293696,280729,293702,63839,293710,40286,91900,288779,293769,265798,293743,268256,293721,293716,293736,293740,293733,293701,5143,293674,1455,56603,293712,4576,4478,293675,379,1530,293695,6067],"class_list":["post-596026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-s-new-ai-crew-member","tag-s-annual-drive-thru-survey","tag-s-customer","tag-s-drive-thru","tag-s-spokesperson","tag-s-use","tag-s-video","tag-s-warning","tag-mass-sackings","tag-human-jobs","tag-2-and-4-nuggets","tag-000-views-jacki","tag-23968","tag-25490","tag-2325","tag-a-digital-voice-activated-ordering-system","tag-a-coffee","tag-a-competition","tag-a-fast-food-customer","tag-a-hungry-jack","tag-a-longer-than-usual-pause","tag-a-number","tag-a-small-long-black","tag-accountants","tag-ai","tag-ai-drive-thru-assistant","tag-ai-drive-thru-assistants","tag-ai-technology","tag-ai-but","tag-an-ai-assistant","tag-an-ai-voice","tag-an-aussie-man","tag-an-expert","tag-an-hour","tag-an-improved-and-enhancedcustomer-experience","tag-and-programmers","tag-another-problem","tag-another-said-another-commentator","tag-any-hashbrowns","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-assistant","tag-australia","tag-australian-catholic-university","tag-cent","tag-cent-junior-jobs","tag-companies","tag-computational-intelligence","tag-controversial-ai-powered-virtual-drive","tag-crew","tag-customers","tag-dairy-queen","tag-drive-thru-lanes-last","tag-early-research","tag-engineers","tag-entry-level-jobs","tag-even-more-coveragedubbed","tag-expert","tag-expert-sayshungry-jack","tag-factors","tag-far-fewer-junior-people","tag-fast-food-locations","tag-fast-food-giant","tag-fast-food-retailers","tag-fast-food-workers","tag-fears","tag-fewer-people","tag-figure","tag-fundamental-contributing","tag-future-professionals","tag-guest-satisfaction-and-feedback","tag-guys","tag-hash-browns","tag-her-paces-the-man","tag-his-bizarre-experience","tag-his-encounter","tag-hungry-jack","tag-iced-it","tag-improvements","tag-intouch-insight","tag-its-st-peters-store","tag-jack","tag-jacki","tag-job-replacement","tag-jobs","tag-jobs-hungry","tag-junior-jobs","tag-kacy","tag-key-customer-touchpoints","tag-kfc","tag-kids","tag-last-year","tag-lawyers","tag-looming-jobs-change","tag-mass-unemployment","tag-mcdonald","tag-millions","tag-more-finance-news","tag-more-than-800","tag-new-zealand","tag-news-com-au","tag-newzealand","tag-nsw-stores","tag-nz","tag-one-person","tag-ongoing-assessment","tag-only-2","tag-our-jobs","tag-our-kids","tag-our-new-app","tag-overall-service-improvements","tag-parts","tag-people","tag-place","tag-prof-shafiabady","tag-professor","tag-questions","tag-risk","tag-robots","tag-roughly-5","tag-selected-drive-thru-locations","tag-several-select-restaurants","tag-shafiabady","tag-social-media","tag-some-professions","tag-study","tag-sydney-restaurants","tag-sydney-want","tag-taco-bell","tag-technology","tag-the-ai","tag-the-ai-assistant","tag-the-ai-voice-assistant","tag-the-clip","tag-the-coffee","tag-the-corporation","tag-the-cost","tag-the-customer","tag-the-drive-thru","tag-the-first","tag-the-first-jobs","tag-the-future","tag-the-heck","tag-the-job","tag-the-next-couple","tag-the-ones","tag-the-only-fast-food-chain","tag-the-ordering-system","tag-the-real-issue","tag-the-restaurant","tag-the-role","tag-the-same-amount","tag-the-software","tag-the-specific-stores","tag-the-spokesperson","tag-the-strategy","tag-the-trial","tag-the-trials-aim","tag-the-united-states","tag-the-us","tag-the-use","tag-the-whole","tag-the-workforce","tag-their-first-work-experience","tag-their-jobs","tag-their-resumes-and","tag-these-guys","tag-these-jobs","tag-training-juniors","tag-trial-ongoinga","tag-uni-students","tag-viral","tag-voice-ai-technology","tag-warning","tag-wendy","tag-what-job","tag-work","tag-workers","tag-workforce-compression","tag-year","tag-years","tag-you-guys","tag-young-people"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=596026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}