The scorecard ended up Humans 1, and Artificial Intelligence 0 in one fight that was started by robots.
Not the Bee is reporting that Taco Bell is running away from its announced plans for AI order takers.
“Last year, Taco Bell made a simple bet that Alexa-like voice assistants could handle the drive-thru window. It didn’t consider whether people could handle dealing with AI. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company embedded AI in the drive-thru boxes at more than 500 locations across the country and quickly found that it made mistakes, creeped people out, and got very easily manipulated,” the report explained.
Dane Mathews, chief of digital systems for the company, said, “We’re learning a lot, I’m going to be honest with you.”
One of the complications that arose was someone who ordered “18,000 cuts of water, please.” And AI’s response.
The company ultimately decided too many mistakes were being made and customers really didn’t like the “voice bots.”
The goal of replacing teen drive-thru attendants, however, isn’t going away, yet.
The chain’s parent company, Yum Brands, recently confirmed a partnership with Nvidia with the goal of improving the tech that powers AI operations handling orders.
