Food automation is not like other automation. The availability, preparation, and consumption of food have the power to drastically alter societies because it is essential to life and sustains both the body and the soul. Automated kitchens are not a thing out of “Star Trek” or “The Jetsons” science fiction, technology is real and widespread.
Today, robots are employed in a wide range of tasks including bread baking, sushi making, pizza making, frying chicken, flipping burgers, salad preparation, serving ramen, and much more. Artificial intelligence has become capable of creating recipes based on whatever is in a kitchen or the molecular compatibility of ingredients. More sophisticated ideas are being developed to automate the kitchen completely for elegant dining.
Restaurants and other businesses are among the early adopters of AI kitchen technologies, as these tend to be expensive initially. Prices should eventually drop enough to affect the housing market, which could alter social and residential dynamics.
“Certainly, just think about the seismic effects of the microwave oven to see how food technology can truly transform society. The ability to quickly prepare a meal for one person was made possible by that technology, which can be both advantageous and disruptive to society,” writes Patrick Lin, Professor of Philosophy, California Polytechnic State University, in his article titled “Robots are coming to the kitchen − what that could mean for society and culture” for The Conversation.
“Pre-packaged meals and plastic containers heated in a microwave are two common concerns regarding the technology. These include poorer nutrition and health outcomes. Less evidently, that ease of use can also turn eating together, from a social, cultural, and artistic activity, into a practical act of survival, changing millions of people’s relationships, customs, ways of working, cooking techniques, and other aspects of daily life,” he wrote.
Just consider how life would be different if there were no microwaves. You might have to go out and socialise with people while taking a break from work, rather than working at your desk while eating a reheated lunch. Living more slowly has its merits in a world where social isolation and franticness are on the rise.
Convenience can have a high price, so it’s important to consider the ethical and social disruptions that emerging technologies may cause. This is especially true for food, a deeply cultural and human domain that permeates daily life.
In his article, Professor Lin talks about a study conducted by his team at California Polytechnic State University, which is halfway through what its members believe to be the first study of the effects AI kitchens and robot cooks could have on diverse societies and cultures worldwide, thanks to funding from the US National Science Foundation. Three main areas of advantages and dangers have been delineated for examination.
The four-year project will anticipate the effects of robot kitchens on society, kickstarting the first extensive conversation on the subject, apart from helping to draw out the hidden and very broad impacts of technology.
“By focusing on the trend of robot kitchens that’s just emerging from under the radar, there is still time for technical and policy interventions in order to maximise benefits and minimise harms and disruptions,” Professor Lin commented.
Creators and consumers
AI kitchens have the potential to free up chefs’ creativity and reduce laborious, repetitive tasks like peeling potatoes and spending hours at a workstation. Time can be saved thanks to technology.
Eliminating the chore of cooking allows you to prioritise more pressing duties or spend more time with your loved ones. AI can accommodate various special diets, allergies, and tastes on demand for personalised eating.
However, the safety of people is not exempt. Cooking is therapeutic and offers opportunities for a variety of things, including self-expression, growth, independence, confidence, and more. If no one needs to cook, these opportunities may be lost.
If parents and kids aren’t working together in the kitchen anymore, it could have an impact on family dynamics because the kitchen is a safe place to talk rather than the dining room, which sometimes feels like an interrogation.
Science education might be negatively impacted because the kitchen doubles as the family’s science lab. Learning about microbiology, physics, chemistry, materials science, math, cooking methods and equipment, food ingredients and where they come from, human health, and problem-solving are all part of the alchemy of cooking for kids and other learners. These abilities and expertise may be undermined by not having to cook.
Community and cultures
AI can support creativity and experimentation in the form of elaborate food presentations and inventive recipes that are true to a culture. Similar to how AI and robotics contribute to the creation of new scientific knowledge, they can also improve our understanding of things like food ingredients’ properties, interactions with one another, and new cooking techniques.
However, culture carries some risks. AI is prone to stereotyping, so it might, for instance, flatten or oversimplify cultural details and distinctions, ruining traditional recipes and methods. The cuisine that AI and robot cooks produce may become less diverse as a result of this selection bias.
If the limitations of their devices result in the homogeneity of creativity and cuisines, tech developers may end up acting as gatekeepers for food innovation, much like the strangely similar feel of AI art images across various apps.
Additionally, consider your preferred dining establishments and evening meals. Would it diminish your own culinary experience to know that the people preparing your food weren’t your friends and family but rather robots? How might automated kitchens alter the character of those neighbourhoods?
Technology is expected to result in the creation of more jobs than its destruction. Numbers can conceal the impact on actual human lives, even in cases where there is a net increase in employment. An inability to pick up new skills for a different job may be experienced by many in the food service industry, which is one of the most popular jobs in any economy. While it’s true that some people are better suited for jobs like cooking, not everyone has the aptitude to work as an AI developer or robot technician.
If true creativity requires inspiration and intuition, then the philosophical question of whether AI can produce it remains unanswered. If a chatbot is just producing words that statistically follow the words that came before it, then assuming that it understands what it’s saying could be as mistaken as that. In line with the ongoing discussions about AI music and art, this has implications for the authenticity and aesthetics of AI cuisine.
Safety and responsibility
Food safety can be increased by robot cooks because humans are a major disease vector. AI recipes that maximise ingredient utilisation combined with other automation techniques like precision trimming can help cut down on food waste. For example, by assisting people in avoiding allergens and excess salt and sugar, customised meals can improve nutrition and overall health.
Since the technology is still in its infancy, it’s uncertain if those advantages will materialise. Foodborne infections are unknown. Will AI and robots be able to carry out additional safety checks and detect whether an ingredient is fresh or not by tasting, smelling, or in some other way?
Another concern is physical safety. It’s crucial to make sure a robot chef doesn’t unintentionally burn, cut, or crush someone due to a malfunctioning computer vision system or other issue. Given that AI chatbots have been known to recommend things like rocks, glue, gasoline, and toxic mushrooms to humans, it is reasonable to assume that AI recipes could also contain errors. It may be difficult to determine liability for robot cooks, even if they are compromised, in the same way that legal systems are still having trouble determining liability for autonomous vehicles.
Given the importance of food, food technologies play a role in shaping society. Since the kitchen holds a special place in households, communities, and cultures, changing this venerable institution will require careful consideration to maximise advantages and minimise risks.