I have
read several articles recently that caused me to stop and catch-up from my
baseline knowledge of robots and drones, which may have stopped at R2D2 and 3-CPO. What actually got me started was not an
article, but a television spot, where they were asking the rhetorical question, “What should you tip robot who serves you a drink?” Evidently the question never was adequately answered
as last night’s television showed a restaurant in China that is served by a
staff of cute looking robots, and they asked the same question.
The first
show was triggered by a lounge in Orange County that already has a robot
serving drinks and was testing the effect of robot servers on tips for serving
staff. Their conclusion was people
actually tipped the robots more and therefore the servers were very happy.
I hooked
up with a golf companion on my last trip out who was a bartender in a fancy-dancy
restaurant in Newport Beach. He seemed
unaware of the robot threat to his livelihood, but I was remembering when I was
briefly a bartender supplementing my spending money while in dental
school. I worked a resort in Door County
a couple of summers, a Country Club one summer, and a Japanese restaurant for
about two years. Each had a pecking
order for tip disbursement, and the biggest lesson I learned was to personalize
the preparation and presentation, if you want to maximize gratuities. I attribute this learned skill to making me
successful in fabricating dentures, partial dentures, and crowns as customer
satisfaction is 90% of that game also.
It’s hard
for me to believe a robot can achieve that, but I did see a TED video that discussed AI robots,
that use their artificial intelligence to bond with humans. My favorite example was a woman who had a
robot seal that she dressed and anthropomorphized and loved. My hygienist has a Therapy Dog, who provides
a similar service to convalescents. Animals
are also use in treating PTSD and rehabilitation prison inmates. There seem to
be more similarities than differences.
Of course
there are those who believe we are setting up our workforce to extinction, and
I was pleased to see a Harvard BusinessReview article arguing that robots need us more than we need them.
Drones
could be described as robots on steroids, and I confess I see them as a
solution looking for a problem. But they
are huge in the marketplace, and the largest supplier in the world, Parrot SA Sells thousands for about
$100. Four times in the last few weeks California
authorities have had to stop air support for firefighting because of drone
activity. Currently a misdemeanor, it is
only a matter of time before drone owners may face jail time.
I did see
one article where a private citizen was investigating a service to provide
food, medicine and other necessities o many areas of our country that are
isolated by impassible roads because of weather. Perhaps when people stop using
their drone toys for surveillance of water waster and cell phone users, reason
may prevail.
I was
reminded recently of the question, “How do you want to be remembered when you
die?” I have some thoughts on that, which I
will share in my next Post. I hope you
will be able to join me.
