Feedback learning and generalization in robotics takes a step forward.

Right, I understood that. It has its original programming, with the addition of real time commands that can alter programming and teach new lessons. I am sure that this will add to new learning for the robot. The problem I am seeing is in the amount of variable solutions within the food service industry. This is, of course, secondary to the conversation and ambience aspect of serving tables, which is a very important part of the dining out experience.What would you say about the slide situation as far as the robot coping with it? Each and every time the robot passes this area will be a new scenario with different flashes of motion from different angles, all within a restaurant that can also seat around 500-700 people at one time. The amount of variable actions the robot can take will be immense and could lead to the incorrect action...Let's say that a kid jumps off the end of the slide and the robot's programming informs it to move to the side. However, at that same time there is a guest walking on the other side of the robot. Well, in that situation as a server, I would bring my second hand up to hold the tray and take the hit from the child, while simultaneously not moving into the other guest. I can, after all, explain away an action I had no part in versus one where I took steps to run into someone else. Or, I could speed up my walk in anticipation of the child jumping off because I have seen this child act rambunctiously throughout the evening. These are only a couple of examples of possible solutions, many of which are effective, but some have better results toward the establishment and the guests. With the immense cost of implementing and operating a robotic serving staff, I would still prefer the flexible thinking of humans at 3.75 an hour to the implementation of tech to achieve the exact same purpose.So, how would the robot react in these types of situations that would make them preferable to a human being, especially when considering the cost of the upgrade?

With enough bleeding hearts like you, ok ... and me, in the electorate, maybe. Maybe not.Androids are a pretty nifty way to bring the ills and evils of this society to their inevitable peak of abuse and spark a revolution. But if not androids then maybe oil/power or food shortages from overpopulation or global warming or another deeper economic depression or some other less nifty abuse will set off the oppressed and depressed populous to violent action.Unless we more evenly level the resources of the society it is going to happen. How we level those resources, how much we level those resources, if we level those resources ... well that is the $10,000 question, isn't it.And I like Jon's question above. The $64,000 question.Edited by AZPaul3, : No reason given.

You almost sound skeptical.

This discussion reminds me of a sci-fi short story With folded hands

The robot learns to respond the same way you learned.

Of course, in the short term (think 200 years).Now, assuming we don't decide to poison, war or warm our species into extinction (yeah, skeptical), then, hey! A quart of Hagen-Dazs chocolate ice cream three times a day without the weight gain or nutrition deficiency! Nirvana. Edited by AZPaul3, : spelin

I agree with you for the most part.
But I think "no robots in the serving industry" isn't realistic.There's going to be a niche market, at the minimum.I mean, there's already a niche market for dining out where talking is prohibited.There will be a niche market for a restaurant where all the servers are robots. For sure. If the price is acceptable, it will even be before the robots can learn. It's just a "cool factor" that will appeal to some people.Will it grow from there? I think that's the questions jar is trying to get at...

In But Who Can Replace a Man? by Brian W. Aldiss, the machines are lost after the humans disappear but eventually they plan their own utopia. At the end of the story, a man appears and asks for food and all of the machines rush to serve him. (There may be one of Asimov's Laws of Robotics hiding in there.)

The coolest part will be not having to deal with dirty, rude, underpaid, slow employees.We are beyond the days where good customer service really makes its mark. Customer service, as practiced by actual employees, is dead. The great experience of having a friendly face bring your food doesn't exist. There's nothing to hold on to; there's nothing the human labor is providing that a robot can't.Go to Wal-Mart. The cashiers twiddle their thumbs while the lines for the self-checkouts back up into the clothing section. And I am right there with them, because I'm not wasting my time with some dipshit cashier when a very pleasant machine can do the work for me instead.Jon

Nonsense. In my experience, customer service has improved significantly since I was your age.The customers, on the other hand, have become very rude.

Interesting topic. I think we will someday have a society full of robots doing jobs for less pay and no medical.
Until the day they become sentient and wipe us out.

You are both correct.A lot of waitstaff are, if not actually grumpy, quite aloof, inattentive and unconcerned. A lot are friendly, smiling and polite.A lot of people (and so there is no confusion we are talking about real human people here, the flesh and blood kind rather than the servo-circuit and hydraulic-fluid kind) take their cue from the customer. If you walk in with attitude, especially that uppity superior one, then, from experience, the waitress is most probably thinking that you're going to stiff her tip if you even bother to give one at all. Not worth her effort. Then there are the grumps and the inattentive who ring your sale, take the money, give you change and bag your purchase without ever looking up from their cell phone no matter how cordial you are.I'm thinking some perceive a growing wave of poor service because there is more service being performed so more opportunity to be poor. Add to that the growing pool of poor customers in absolute number if not in percentage. Together with the instant communications of bad things (considerably less often will people disseminate videos/text about good service) and perceptions form.So you are both right in a way, which means that nothing has changed in the last century. Poor Customer ServiceAnd, ringo, you may be seeing a improvement in the level of service you receive because you're old and servers feel sorry for you because you're going to die soon.

One meme that is going around is that one of the Koch brothers won't tip at the country club where he buys his billionaire friends meals.One of my habits is I go out to breakfast to meet a friend every Sunday before she goes to church. While I don't eat much, I give a minimum of a 5 buck tip, even though my meal might even be less than that (I feel that a waiter having a wage of 2.45 an hour plus tips is idiotic, so I have a 5 buck min.For some reason, I get excellent service , all the time.

Location may have an impact on the service.In places where employees are paid minimum wage, tipping might be less, and the service offered less.But my opinion is: any service done for the hope of a tip is service not deserving a tip.

Waiters and waitresses make their living off of tips. If they give you good service, and you don't acknowledge it, I consider that unethical. Don't go out dining.