Yum! Brands executive pushes back against AI hate: Taco Bell drive-thru bot has helped increase employee retention by making jobs easier
Source: Fortune ·
“I'm seeing all the data center noise and all the things that people worry about with AI, and there's that constant tension,” Yum! Brands Chief Legal Officer Erika Burkhardt said.
From the source
As Americans continue to oppose the AI buildout, Yum! Brands is reckoning with the dissonance between this opposition and the technology’s benefits for workers within the company. At the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Tuesday, Yum! Brands Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary Erika Burkhardt explained the disconnect she feels in seeing the positive impacts of how the fast-food giant has deployed AI across its restaurants, such as automating the drive-thru ordering process, with coming home and going on social media to see widespread criticism of the technology. “I’m seeing all the data center noise and all the things that people worry about with AI, and there’s that constant tension,” she told Fortune Editorial Director Kristin Stoller. “One of the things that we’ve learned through the drive-thru experience is that AI is actually increasing retention among our team members in the restaurant because it’s making their jobs easier. It’s taking away…