In Pasadena, California, the world's first fully autonomous AI-powered restaurant has opened, featuring burger-flipping robots. The restaurant, Cali Express by Flippy, uses AI not only in the kitchen but also in customer service with cheeseburger order kiosks employing facial recognition. The automation aims to address labor shortages and potential cost increases due to rising minimum wages. Flippy, the AI chef, can cook large quantities efficiently, and the restaurant claims competitive pricing and consistent food quality. While some worry about job displacement, proponents emphasize the positive impact on efficiency and safety. The text concludes by leaving the question of whether AI will dominate kitchens worldwide to the public.
Vocabulary:
• Powered: something is getting energy or working with the help of a power source, like electricity or batteries.
• Sizzle: It's the sound you hear when something is being cooked with heat, often associated with the sound of food frying or grilling.
• Kiosks: These are small stand-alone machines or booths, often found in public places, that provide information or services. In this context, it refers to machines for ordering.
• Understaffed: When a place or organization doesn't have enough people working, especially when it needs more employees to meet the demand.
• Unfilled: Positions or jobs that are available but currently do not have someone doing them.
• Patties: Flat, usually round, portions of ground meat, often used for making burgers.
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