Artificial intelligence continues to gain positions. If 20 years ago it sounded like science fiction and ten years ago we only began to glimpse its real and practically immediate potential, today we already live with it and, in addition, it has become transparent, that is, we do not even perceive that it is there. We use services and devices of all kinds without being fully aware that their operation depends, totally or partially, on artificial intelligence.
We are experiencing a boom in artificial intelligence. Whenever a new technology becomes fashionable, we see how many companies take notice and incorporate it into their processes. This, in principle, is very positive. If you read our half-brother, you will know that we usually talk about digital transformation, how it can change the day-to-day of companies, and how necessary it is, on many occasions, to remain competitive in such a complex world.
This, however, sometimes leads to projects and even the implementation of practical applications of some technologies that, at least seen from the outside, is somewhat problematic. And be careful; here, I want to clarify that I am not criticizing them; they escape my understanding. And this case, this specific application of artificial intelligence is undoubtedly on that list of uses that I do not quite understand, perhaps due to ignorance or closed-mindedness.
The fact is that, as we can read on Gizmodo, Pizza Hut has developed an artificial intelligence whose mission is to recommend what to eat based on the weather situation. I could leave it here, let each one keep their reflections, and if anything, we already discussed it in the comments. Still, it would not be professional, so I have asked myself some questions after learning about this technological innovation.
The first is if the menu of this chain of pizzerias is very different in the United States from what we can find in its restaurants in Spain. So like a good investigative journalist, always on the cutting edge of the news, I have opened my VPN software, I have connected to one of its nodes in the United States, and I have accessed its website. Disappointment, they do not have hot soups for cold days or fresh gazpacho for these hot days (be careful, I am not making this up, in 2011, PepsiCo was trying to introduce gazpacho in the United States ).
My joy in a well: Pizza, chicken wings, pasta, side dishes (potatoes, cheese sticks, etc.), desserts, and drinks make up the culinary offer of Pizza Hut in the United States, and among this selection, artificial intelligence will have to strive to choose the best recommendation according to temperature, humidity, if it rains or is sunny.
I keep thinking about the matter; I understand that artificial intelligence will also learn about the client’s tastes and, perhaps, over time, it will be able to “learn” what specialties of the house they like best based on the weather. And I do see sense for a service like UberEats, for example, to make recommendations in this regard, since its catalog is much more extensive, and it can recommend some restaurants or others, or specific dishes of them, depending on whether it’s cold, mid-season or hot.
However, I do not quite understand it in a restaurant chain with such a specific offer and, also, tremendously timeless (in the meteorological sense). I think there are many other metrics that artificial intelligence could feed on, which would be more helpful (school calendar, sporting events, etc.), which would also be beneficial for a better supply of raw materials in restaurants.
And as for artificial intelligence and meteorology, it could also make sense to use it, based on forecasts for the next few days, to approximate the volume of orders and customers that will visit its centers. Rainy day? More home delivery. Nice weekend day? Many more visits to malls and cinemas and potentially restaurants.
In other words, I want to clarify that the application of artificial intelligence to the restaurant sector seems like a significant advance, with many possibilities. However, I think this particular approach is I don’t know; I can’t find the right words to define it, although I don’t know if it’s because of the problem of the invention or because talking about pizzas has made me quite hungry.