Robot Bartenders: Improving Quality Of Life Or Road To Dystopia?

“People can be unpredictable; “Let the robot make your coffee” is the slogan of coffee shop chain Botbar, which opened its first store in New York on June 10 in the trendy neighborhood of Greenpoint at 666 Manhattan Avenue, a number that for the esoteric could mean the beginning of one Dystopia in which dehumanization prevails. But for the bar’s founder, Denise Chung, the robots are here to help us and help improve the quality of life for both baristas and customers. “I will still have some employees who have to fill the machines with coffee beans and greet the customers. The robot does the mechanical part.” The botbar has several tables and three vending machines where customers can place their orders via a touchscreen. Adam, a robot, is in charge of making coffee (he can make 50 coffees per hour). “It’s an improvement for the community; Instead of being served by a waiter who is tired of making 500 coffees a day, a robot will make sure the coffee is made quickly and perfectly,” adds Chung.

Chung’s arguments are nothing new. According to María José de Abreu, professor of anthropology at Columbia University, technological advances have always provoked great anxiety, “not only because of the idea of machines replacing humans, but also, on a more metaphysical level, because of myth. “ The perfection associated with the machine, which would equate it with some kind of god or even an animal.” But according to a recent study by economists at Deutsche Bank Research, AI will create more jobs than it will destroy in the long term. Moreover, according to the American historian Louis Hyman, automation does not lead us to the end of work, but to the “end of boring work”. In an article in The New York Times, Hyman points out, “Everyday automation says the opposite: the way to be more productive and make more money is to use our technology to become more human.”

This example is not unique. In California, the birthplace of Silicon Valley, similar initiatives have already been launched, such as Artly the Barista Bot (which also has offices in Seattle and Portland), the creation of a startup that has already raised around $10 million. Also worth mentioning are Monty Café, which has franchises in six Russian cities and in Dubai, and Henn Na Café in Tokyo, where a robot named Sawyer has been serving coffee since 2018 and asking customers, “Would you like some delicious coffee?” ?” I can make you a better person than the people here.” Adam, the botbar barista, brings new items to the counter. He has two long articulated arms – not just one automated arm – looks like R2-D2 from Star Wars and waves and dances to entertain customers. The songs vary, but the Village People classic YMCA is currently on the program.

However, according to Ethiraj Gabriel Dattatreyan, a professor of anthropology at New York University, the botbar is problematic. “It uses the opportunity for dehumanized, smooth work.” No tip is necessary, the robot can be insulted without consequences and the employer saves on salary costs. “Automation absolves owners of responsibilities to the classes that depend on wage labor for their existence in our economic system,” notes Dattatreyan. And with the beginning of the demise of the human bartender, the idea of the bar or coffee shop as a social rampart also comes into question.

The rise of freelancers and remote work is changing the face of coffee shops, with many young people now using them as offices. Ankit Sah (Getty Images)

Quiet Please, Millennials at Work

In recent years, the growth of immaculately designed franchises has replaced traditional establishments. The rise of freelancers and remote work is helping bars and cafes become workplaces where a conversation can disrupt those doing their jobs. This is already happening in the US. No more jokes, no more smiles, no more personalized recommendations, no more gossip. In this context of alienation, the character of a robot waiter makes sense as it contributes to efficiency and productivity.

“The equanimity of entrepreneurs with moral qualities is key. Progress must be integral; it belongs not only to the technical-scientific field, but also to morality,” says José Luis Mora García, professor emeritus of intellectual history at the Autonomous University of Madrid, who considers robots useful in 24-hour spaces as long as they are not enforced infernal logic of consumerism to make the apparatus economically profitable. “If [Spanish scholar and humanist] Luis Vives appealed to the judges as interpreters of the law. Let’s appeal to the equanimity of those who have the technology so that robots take up very limited spaces in our bars when there is no other choice.”

Bars and cafeterias are traditional meeting places; to watch a game, meet friends, date, political debates and cultural presentations. But people also go there alone to sit at the bar and chat with the bartender and other customers. They are social spaces. According to psychologist Susan Pinker, the secret of longevity lies precisely in our social lives. And bartenders play a crucial role in creating that sense of well-being: for example, according to a study conducted by Sondea for Coca-Cola, 30% of Spaniards would leave their house keys with the bartender at their favorite spot.

According to the Spanish Statistical Office, no country in the world has more bars per inhabitant. In 2020, a campaign was launched to propose the Spanish hospitality industry as a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage designation. “Pouring a good beer is an art” and “The tradition of making coffee is more than 350 years old” were among the arguments put forward in the candidacy. What happens when tradition and art become mechanized and controlled processes?

José Antonio González Alcantud, professor of social anthropology at the University of Granada, points out that the atmosphere in a bar promotes conviviality. “Drunk and food produce altered states of consciousness that facilitate enlightenment and freedom of expression toward the subjugated. The French Revolution began in taverns. All of its poets, from Baudelaire to Verlaine, and writers, from Balzac to Sartre, had their favorite pubs. It will not fly in Spain or Italy. Do robots serve humans? It’s not implausible, but it won’t work,” he says. “And if that’s the case, then we’re finally on the road to dystopia, a filthy environment. Nevertheless, we would have to humanize the robots and give them liturgical functions. We humanized them, gave them nicknames and joked with them. The bar will remain humanity’s last ditch.”