A Robot Makes a Mean Caesar Salad, but Will It Cost Jobs?
- 7 years ago
A Robot Makes a Mean Caesar Salad, but Will It Cost Jobs?
“It’s something our union and many unions are still studying,” said Ian Lewis, research director for Unite Here Local 2, a union
that represents hotel, food service, restaurant and laundry workers in San Francisco and San Mateo, Calif. “We’re absolutely concerned and trying to grapple with it.”
Whatever their effect on employment, new robots are on the way.
But as a growing number of food- and drink-slinging robots have begun interacting with diners in the San Francisco Bay Area, Deepak Sekar, the device’s inventor
and the founder and chief executive of Chowbotics, has faced questions about whether his machine will put people out of work.
Researchers analyzed the effects of industrial robots on local labor markets in the United States from 1990 to 2007, and estimated
that adding one robot per 1,000 workers has led to unemployment for up to six workers and has caused a decrease in wages by up to 0.50 percent.
“We could be looking at over 50 percent of jobs disappearing in the United States
over the next 10 to 15 years,” said Jane Kim, a San Francisco supervisor.
Mr. Sekar insists that his company’s current focus — which is on the salad bar market
instead of restaurants more broadly — means Sally won’t be a job killer.
“It’s something our union and many unions are still studying,” said Ian Lewis, research director for Unite Here Local 2, a union
that represents hotel, food service, restaurant and laundry workers in San Francisco and San Mateo, Calif. “We’re absolutely concerned and trying to grapple with it.”
Whatever their effect on employment, new robots are on the way.
But as a growing number of food- and drink-slinging robots have begun interacting with diners in the San Francisco Bay Area, Deepak Sekar, the device’s inventor
and the founder and chief executive of Chowbotics, has faced questions about whether his machine will put people out of work.
Researchers analyzed the effects of industrial robots on local labor markets in the United States from 1990 to 2007, and estimated
that adding one robot per 1,000 workers has led to unemployment for up to six workers and has caused a decrease in wages by up to 0.50 percent.
“We could be looking at over 50 percent of jobs disappearing in the United States
over the next 10 to 15 years,” said Jane Kim, a San Francisco supervisor.
Mr. Sekar insists that his company’s current focus — which is on the salad bar market
instead of restaurants more broadly — means Sally won’t be a job killer.