Alibaba is pushing through a modernisation initiative in the retail and restaurant industry by using robots and AI to replace workers, raising efficiency and lowering labour costs. For example, there is the microwave-sized "Robot.He" which has been put in a number of diners to replace waiters. “In Shanghai, a waiter costs up to CNY10,000 ($1,500) per month. That’s two in cost every year. And hundreds of thousands shifts of people are needed. But we don’t need hundreds of thousands shifts for robots and they are on duty every day", said Alibaba's Cao Haitao, who developed the concept.
Alibaba is pushing through a modernisation initiative in the retail and restaurant industry by using robots and AI to replace workers, raising efficiency and lowering labour costs. For example, there is the microwave-sized "Robot.He" which has been put in a number of diners to replace waiters. “In Shanghai, a waiter costs up to CNY10,000 ($1,500) per month. That’s hundreds of thousands in cost every year. And two shifts of people are needed. But we don’t need two shifts for robots and they are on duty every day", said Alibaba's Cao Haitao, who developed the concept.