AI: Opportunity or obsolescence for workers?

For generations, teenagers have gotten their start in the working world at fast-food joints, taking orders, flipping burgers and manning the french fry bin. It’s a rite of passage for those looking to work after school or summers in order to save for college or a car or whatever cool gadget is out there at the moment.

Some kids in Ohio may lose out on that opportunity this summer, though.

Fast-food giant Wendy’s has announced it will begin using artificial intelligence to take drive-thru orders this month at its restaurants in the Columbus, Ohio, area. The pilot program, the company says, will use new generative AI to take orders and "to have conversations with customers, (create) the ability to understand made-to-order requests and generate responses to frequently asked questions."