Self-Service in Restaurants Was Just the Beginning

It only really hit me when I found myself standing in front of a screen with a tray in my hands.

“Welcome. Please place your order.”

There used to be a person behind the counter. Now there’s a touchscreen.

We’ve become used to it at McDonald’s. But it’s spreading everywhere. In regular restaurants you order by scanning a QR code. At the airport you print your own luggage tag, attach it to your suitcase and drop it off yourself. At Lidl you scan your own groceries. At Leroy Merlin in the Algarve it’s exactly the same. Even the exit gate only opens after you’ve scanned your receipt.

It’s all supposed to be more efficient.

But more enjoyable? Not really.

And now AI has joined the party.

I notice it myself. I used to call an accountant, a lawyer or a handyman. Now I ask ChatGPT first. How do I fix a leaking tap? Is this broccoli still good? How do I write a contract? Which stocks should I buy?

Useful? Absolutely.

But somewhere along the way I’ve also become my own help desk, lawyer, financial adviser, translator, travel agent and IT department.

Just one more little task.

Nobody calls it work because you do it at home.

That may be AI’s biggest trick. We think computers are taking over people’s jobs. In reality, they’re often taking work away from professionals… and handing it to us.

Companies save on staff.

We provide the hours.

And to be fair, sometimes I enjoy it. There’s something satisfying about solving a problem yourself. But when I’ve scanned my own shopping, tagged my own suitcase, checked in online, filled out forms, asked a chatbot for advice and sorted out a tax question in the evening, I can’t help feeling that I’ve quietly taken on a part-time job.

Maybe that’s the real price of progress.

We save money, but we pay with our time.

And time is the one thing nobody can create more of.

So the next time I walk into a restaurant and someone says, “May I take your order?”, I’ll probably smile more than ever.

Not because it’s faster.

But because, for once, someone is doing something for me.