McDonald's is scrapping a trial of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted ordering at select drive-through restaurants after videos of order mix-ups went viral online. The fast food giant's decision to retire the AI-powered voice-ordering system from about 100 outlets comes as restaurant chains rush to embrace the technology to cut back on mounting labour costs. McDonald's launched the pilot in partnership with IBM at a select number of drive-through restaurants in the United States in 2021. Trade publication Restaurant Business first reported the news on Friday. "While there have been successes to date, we feel there is an opportunity to explore voice ordering solutions more broadly," Mason Smoot, the chief restaurant officer for McDonald's USA, said in an email cited by Restaurant Business.

Brands said it is bringing an "AI-first" mentality to fast food. FAST-FOOD INNOVATIONS: Yum! Brands, the operator of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and The Habit Burger Grill restaurants, is embracing technology with plans for "AI-powered" fast food, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Companies will be making the move toward AI to power their restaurants. CREATIVE INFRINGEMENT: Katy Perry and Miranda Lambert are just some of the more than over 200 names who have signed a letter speaking out for musicians' rights as artificial intelligence continues to expand its reach. POWER SURGE: Global energy demand is projected to surge in coming years amid the growth of artificial intelligence, which requires massive amounts of electricity.

It looks like the original Pac-Man, and plays an awful lot like it too, but once you see the titular yellow hero chow down on a line of ghosts 33 deep like some kind of insatiable, eyeless animal, it's clear the classic formula has been juiced a bit. It's Pac-Man 99, Nintendo Switch's new 99-player online battle royale, and I've been low-key obsessed since it came out in April. My first encounter with Pac-Man was pretty typical for the 1990s. It was a lonely vintage game in the corner at my local Aladdin's Castle arcade at Countryside Mall, a quiet machine in the glory days of TMNT, Mortal Kombat, and Street Fighter II. I tended to play it because there was never a wait (it was already considered a relic in 1992) and unlike the fighting games, I could actually survive for more than a couple of minutes at a time.

Pizza Hut to turn weather: The tech giant companies such as Netscape and Friendster are the first ones to introduce such ideology along with Pizza Hut but it is not enough to be first. The deep-dish chain was the first-ever company to introduce online food delivery services, now this industry in this year has projected to hit 126.91 billion US dollars. But the company failed to move with the pace of innovation and was later defeated by the rivals. Pizza Hut now, after the 3 long decades later knows that's it's the perfect time to get serious. After this, the company started looking for analytics, data, and Artificial Intelligence along with machine learning to learn more about the customers about boost sales and the digital experience of the consumer. Now, after it is mentioned that the early entrants are no more and the Pizza Hut is currently spinning up the pies and there is a lot to learn from the companies ideology such as the game of ketchup.

Pizza Hut plans to use AI tech to recommend orders to customers based on the weather in their location, the company's data chief told VentureBeat. The restaurant chain is building its own in-house AI technology to understand more about what its customers want, Tristan Burns, Pizza Hut Digital Ventures' global head of analytics, told VentureBeat in an interview. "Part of our machine learning program is to ingest customer behavior and a little bit about who customers are, where in the world they are, what the weather might be at their location, and then surface relevant product recommendations to them during their experience," Burns said, per VentureBeat. Burns told VentureBeat that Pizza Hut was in the early stages of developing the technology. He did not give details about how the weather would affect its recommendations.

WellSaid Labs describes what clients can expect from its "eight new digital voice actors!" Tobin is "energetic and insightful." Paige is "poised and expressive." Ava is "polished, self-assured, and professional." Each one is based on a real voice actor, whose likeness (with consent) has been preserved using AI.

Over the past 13 months, consumers have grown used to the flexibility and convenience of a lifestyle that is more online than ever before. With the rapid progress of this digital shift, businesses are gaining access to more and more consumer data, and the tools for leveraging this data to personalize consumers' experiences are becoming more refined. As consumers grow used to on-demand services and experiences, so do businesses, expecting solutions that meet their specific needs on a moment-to-moment basis. Demandoo, an on-demand insurance provider based in Tel Aviv, Israel, is taking this mindset to the insurance industry, using artificial intelligence (AI) to provide case-by-case risk assessment and offer insurance solutions that meet the specific needs of each customer. Now, the company has partnered with Pizza Hut Israel to insure the company's eBike delivery fleet, a vehicle overlooked by traditional insurance providers.

You wouldn't be the first person to roll your eyes if told that a Silicon Valley startup that uses robots to make pizza is worth almost $2 billion. Nor would you be the first person to question aloud how that same startup, a year later, could soon double in valuation. But indeed, Recode has learned that this startup, Zume Inc., is in talks with investors to be valued at about $4 billion in a new round of fundraising, according to people familiar with the matter. One part of the story that isn't so surprising: One of Zume's biggest investors is SoftBank, the controversial investor behind WeWork and Uber that has become emblematic of Silicon Valley's excesses. SoftBank pumped $375 million into Zume just last year.

Accenture Chief Technology and Innovation Officer Paul Daugherty on how artificial intelligence will impact the workforce in America in the future. Artificial intelligence is devouring the restaurant industry. Delivery sales are projected to grow at more than three times the rate of revenue from customers dining in at restaurants, according to a report from L.E.K. consulting. And more than half of customers are ordering food directly from a restaurant's app or website, according to the same report. Here's how the restaurant industry is leveraging artificial intelligence to boost sales and reach more customers.

Pizza Hut will not be outdone in the pursuit of over-the-top delivery vehicles. The restaurant chain has teamed up with Toyota to unveil the Tundra Pie Pro, a concept hydrogen fuel cell truck that not only cooks pizzas, but uses a pair of robot arms to move them along the line. The mechanical limbs fetch pre-assembled pizzas, bake them, slice them and slide them into boxes all on their own -- they'll even ring a bell to let you know your meal is ready. The whole process takes about six to seven minutes, suggesting that the truck could bake your pizza while it's on the way to your home, even if you're just a few blocks away. Both the robotic kitchen and the truck itself rely on hydrogen, so you wouldn't have to worry about hurting the planet in the name of a fresh dish.