Alexis Whyte

I can feel very iffy about AI being integrated into my life or my daily schedule in general. But, I think I’d be more opt to allow it in a strictly assistive way, as you mentioned with Starbucks, than letting a robot or AI system completely run my life. Very interesting read! Thanks for sharing!

Hi Alexis,

Great topic choice! I personally like how Starbucks is implementing AI. The goal of fast food chains is to deliver food quickly and provide an excellent customer experience. Utilizing AI for routine tasks frees up more employees to assist where needed. This is especially crucial now due to the lack of employees companies have due to the pandemic.

There’s nothing more frustrating than going to a fast food place and waiting in line or not getting exactly what you ordered. So implementing AI to improve the restaurant experience would be a great move. Of course, you’d have to weigh the pros and cons of doing so. But in the end, if it makes the business operate more efficiently and provides a better experience, I think it’s worth it.

Hi Alexis,

Great post! Like Montrease, I’m uneasy and feel that there are pros and cons to each. While very cool (especially for someone like me who loves personalization!), I don’t necessarily think the KFC meal suggestion tool is worthwhile. I feel as though, with fast food drive though, people already know what they want – quick and easy and their minds are made up. I’ve never gone through a drive through asking the operator if they prefer a McChicken or the Filet O’ Fish. On the other hand, I think Starbucks has gotten it right in terms of leveraging AI on the back end behind the scenes for data management, scheduling, etc. This allows for better streamlining and inefficiencies and most likely is more affordable considering they don’t have to hire someone to manage those things directly.

P,S, I admittedly went to McDonalds while in Rome so we both share a refined palate 😉

Ah the good ol’ airline industry. I struggle with this one! I greatly value the flexibility that Southwest offers and believe that all airlines should take that same flexible approach – especially considering most airlines flex that same “expectation of flexibility” on their end – “we overbooked your flight and therefore need to bump you”; “your connector flight has now been canceled so you will now change flights in Philadelphia as opposed to the originally scheduled Phoenix.” If they expect us, as consumers, to be agile in terms of their scheduling process, than why, as a as multi-billion industry, can’t they offer that same level of flexibility to their customers? With the uncertainty that COVID continues to present, especially in relation to the dynamic travel restrictions, I think this only reinforces the need for larger and costlier airlines to adopt more customer centric changes going forward.

Hi Alexis! It’s so cool that you have travelled to 15 countries! I haven’t gotten a chance to travel outside of the U.S. but I would love to one day. France and St. Lucia are definitely on my bucket list! I love Mexican food as well, my favorite dish are tostadas de Tinga. Pacino is adorable!

Hi Alexis,

You are so fortunate to have travelled to 15 countries! I don’t know if I have been to as many countries as you, but I love traveling as well. I actually studied abroad too, but in Sydney Australia. Everything I’ve heard about studying in London makes me think I should done another semester abroad!

I’m more of a dog person just because I am allergic to cats. I have a Portuguese Waterdog named Dean.