Posted this week in Orlando Sentinel’s CF100.
As automated self-serve kiosks spread across Central Florida since its introduction three months ago, the issue of its impact on labor is far from settled. McDonald’s CEO insists that it is not a labor-saving technology, but the obvious reality to every thinking human being on the planet is that it will clearly replace workers and counter-balance the regressive impact of increasing the minimum wage. Social engineering always has its costs, as politicians need to remember, but never as incomparably as in the post-technology era. Beware workers and reputable office-seekers alike: we cannot legislate prosperity; we can only navigate it through fundamental laws of supply and demand.