History Buff Compares McDonald's Drive-Thru AI Upgrade to the 1910 'Electric Waiters' That Started a Restaurant Rebellion
The rollout of McDonald’s new AI-powered drive-thru system, designed to take orders at record speed, has ignited a viral debate—but one history buff is drawing an eerie parallel to a little-known event from 1914. That year, the Automat restaurant chain in New York unveiled 'electric waiters'—mechanical arms that dispensed trays without human contact. It was hailed as the future of dining, until a backlash from waitstaff and customers, who complained of cold food and mechanic errors, forced the machines out within months. The parallel is striking: just as the Automat’s 'electric waiters' were pulled after losing the human touch, McDonald’s upgrade is already seeing viral videos of AI misordering McNuggets and ignoring customizations. History, it seems, is repeating itself—proving that even the buzz of 'mcdonald's drive-thru ai upgrade' can't outrun the ghost of past automation failures.