There's a restaurant chain in San Francisco that is almost entirely automated. It's called Eatsa and it's coming to a city near you in the future.
There are no waiters or waitresses, no cashiers and no one comes to your table to fill up your water glass. There are four people back in the kitchen whom you cannot see who are preparing your meal. Once your meal is prepared, it appears inside a sterile white box with your name digitized on the front of it. You pay by swiping your credit card into an ipad-style device and you order your preferred ingredients by pressing on buttons.
Here's what it looks like when your order is ready:
It really is the Jetson's age. But I do wonder what effect automation will have on our ability to socialize in spaces that are not traditionally digitized? Think about it, most people do their work on a computer and they look forward to socializing during a lunch break. In the Eatsa restaurant, it would be possible to go through the entire restaurant experience without interacting with a single human.
So, what gets cut out of this scenario?
Well, for one, sometimes we don't know exactly what we want to eat and we rely on the recommendations of the people who work at the restaurant. Think back in your life, how many times have you interacted with servers and asked them what's the best thing to eat? Think about the connections between socialization and spontaneity? Sometimes you meet strangers through the act of socializing with your waiter/waitress. The sheer act of socializing can sometimes lead to other kinds of socializing which can make life spontaneous and fun.
Now think about an automated restaurant scenario.
Isolation becomes the de facto way to be. Everyone has their device and uses other devices inside the restaurant to procure their meal. You speak to no one. You don't have to. Socializing with others becomes an odd thing. People turn to their electronics instead of to each other in these kinds of situations. The socialization aspect of eating is deleted entirely in the case that you go out to eat by yourself. Of course, if you go to lunch with others, you will still be socializing and engaging with each other.
One thing that is not clear in this automated restaurant is the situation where you have an issue with your meal and need to speak to someone in order to get it resolved. There doesn't seem to be anyone around helping in this area.
I'm not for or against this type of restaurant.
I think I'd welcome it because I tend to be interested in choosing the exact ingredients for a meal. And the type of food that Eatsa serves looks quite healthy and delicious. I'd definitely be interested in trying it out. But sometimes, I want to go to a restaurant to have a different experience, talking to different people. I think the isolation aspect of these fully automated restaurants will be the thing that decreases their widespread adoption. But this could all change with the younger generations. They could be all for this type of restaurant.
Eatsa started in San Francisco and has so far spread to California, New York and Washington D.C. How far do you think this concept will spread in the future?