Artificial Intelligence Success Comes Through Growth, Not Labor Savings

It was just reported that Haidilao, a 5,000-restaurant chain in Asia, intends to save on labor costs by replacing chefs and waiters with robots. To "lower labor costs and boost efficiency." Restaurants succeed by serving great, nutritious fresh food in a nice atmosphere staffed by great people. How many readers have stopped by a Horn & Hardart automat lately? Horn & Hardart helped pioneer the automat concept as early as 1902, but where are all those automats now? That's why it's encouraging that the companies that are taking an early lead with artificial intelligence don't see it as just labor-saving technology -- rather, they see it as a way to grow, to better serve customers and provide a superior experience.