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New Fast Food Tech Could Lead To Job Cuts

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Would you rather order your fast food from a kiosk or a person?

Fast food restaurants are starting to put the "fast" part of the classification into ordering. But some believe new technology could lead to job cuts.

At some McDonald's locations, they're skipping the traditional cashiers, and having customers order through the kiosks or the McDonald's app.

Most of its 14,000 restaurants in the U.S. are expected to have the kiosks by the year 2020.

Some CaliBurger restaurants will also be getting a "flippy," a burger-flipping robot that uses artificial intelligence to identify foods and cook them properly.

Not everyone is on board though. Martin Ford, the author of "Rise of the Robots" believes the new technology will lead to fewer jobs.

"For me it's easy to imagine a fast food store employing maybe 30 percent fewer employees, or maybe even half as many employees," he said.

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