Chef vs. Robot
Robby the chef has lots of endearing qualities. He can make over 5000 dishes, he's a consistent cook, and he's never late for work. But he's not a human. It is a 750 lb. stainless steel robot. With a rotating wok at its center. It's a wok-bot.
Automation has changed many industries. But automation only started entering restaurant kitchens in the past couple decades. Which raises the question – what will robots mean for the restaurant industry? How will automation change jobs and how will it change the very food we eat?
Today on the show, we talk with a Nobel prize-winning economist, Daron Acemoglu, about when automation is complementing or displacing workers. And we decide to put this wok-bot to the test. We pit a human chef against Robby the wok-bot in a head-to-metalhead smackdown.
Further Listening/Reading:
- How AI could help rebuild the middle class
- The Big Red Button
- Check out our AI series: Planet Money makes an episode using AI
- Why Nations Fail, America Edition (newsletter)
- A New Way To Understand Automation (newsletter)
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This episode was hosted by Erika Beras and Justin Kramon. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Robert Rodriguez with help from Cena Loffredo. Interpretation help from Huo Jingnan. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.
Music: Universal Production Music - "Out to Lunch," "Split Second," "Surge Mode," "Inch By Inch," "Focused Precision," "Only One Winner," "Accelerate," "Final Test," "On Track," "The Extra Mile," "Top Gear," and "Runaround"