Iterate Weekly - Issue 111
This week we're looking at Wendy's AI drive-thru, Remote work is killing urban retail, The Iris eTrike is coming!, Bach hopes to plan your group trip, and The Toys That Made Us!
Welcome to issue 111 of Iterate Weekly!
Hope you’re all doing well. This is just a friendly reminder that you can always reply directly to these messages or leave a comment on the Substack post. Feedback is highly encouraged and I’m happy to answer any and all questions that come up.
Let’s jump into this week’s stories.
🤖 Tech
Wendy’s brings AI to the drive-thru
Not even the drive-thru window is safe from the coming onslaught of AI!
Wendy’s has decided to add an AI Chatbot to its drive-thru experience.
The Ohio-based restaurant chain will be teaming up with Google to offer something called “Wendy’s FreshAI” at select locations. Hungry customers will be able to speak their order in the same way they would if a human was on the other end listening. The hope is that the technology will speed-up the ordering process and cut back on ordering mistakes.
We’ve all had terrible experiences with drive-thru ordering machines being difficult to hear or understand. While it seems like pretty basic technology, malfunctions seem fairly common. I’d argue that just driving up to a touchscreen is more effective than letting an AI decode your verbal order, but I may be wrong.
Maybe the most interesting part of this story is that the chatbot will need to be trained to understand Wendy’s slang. A milkshake is called a frosty of course. And every intelligent bot should know that a JBC is actually a junior bacon cheeseburger.
Let’s be real, this setup is prime for mistakes and angry customers. Wendy’s will be testing it out this summer to see if it’s something that should go mainstream or not. And yes, the customer will always have an option to be connected to a human if the AI ordering experience hits a snag. And before we jump to the conclusion that fast food jobs are the next to be taken over by AI, Wendy’s claims that the chatbot will not be replacing any jobs. I love the very corporate response from Kevin Vasconi, the chief information officer at Wendy’s.
“The new automated ordering experience is designed to enhance the customer and crew experience by taking the complexity out of the ordering process so employees can focus on serving up fast, fresh, quality food and building relationships with fans that keep them coming back.”
Hmm, sure. I can’t recall the last time I visited a Wendy’s but maybe I would be more likely to choose the drive-thru that lets me talk to a robot rather than a human.
Anyone else ready to welcome the arrival of AI to the drive-thru?
🎓 Education/Productivity/Work
Remote work is killing urban retail
Another remote work story this week. Or maybe it’s more about the domino effect of remote work on the economy.
Downtown retail centers are really missing the shoppers who have vacated the financial districts in favor of suburban shops closer to home.
It’s an interesting development of the post-pandemic (is it ever really over?) work arrangements for many employees. While some workers have gone back to downtown offices in a hybrid model, Mondays and Fridays have still become extremely slow for many urban businesses. Some shops may pick up if employees visit the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays, but it may not be enough.
Suburban restaurants and shops are seeing an uptick in remote workers running the errands and eating the meals that would have otherwise taken place in more densely urban areas around the office.
I’ve personally seen this happening in San Francisco as much if not more than any other city. Recent closures of downtown retailers have included the demise of many tenants in the Westfield Mall including the much-discussed Nordstrom flagship store.
I suppose the point here is that these things are cyclical. The savvy retailers will continue to move where the foot traffic is. Urban centers may need to be used for other types of retail that are more experiential and high-end. The days of running errands downtown on a lunch break could be a thing of the past.
♻️ Health & Environment
The Iris eTrike is coming!
Just look at that sleek mode of transportation above and try not to get excited! Have you ever seen anything so obviously from the future?
That right there is a device called the Iris eTrike created by Grant Sinclair.
While it may still look like a rendering that will never come to market, Sinclair is claiming that mass production will be starting soon. I’m cautiously optimistic. Seeing how he is the son of a famous inventor, he gets a little more credit that the average renegade creator, but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt.
What makes this thing so special? Well it is obviously a tricycle that is enclosed. That has two major benefits. On one hand it really helps with aerodynamics. This will likely be treated like a high-speed pedal-assisted ebike. It is capable of 30mph speeds but should still be allowed to enter most bike lanes and pathways.
The second major plus to this design is the weather protection. It may look like a cross between a small car and a spaceship, but having a fully-enclosed cockpit on a vehicle that isn’t classified as a car is a rare feat.
I’d be remiss not to offer up a shot of the opened capsule as well.
I have to admit it looks pretty cool. And the big question about many of these funky pseudo-car/ebike creations is whether or not they’re safer or at least as safe as the vehicles they’re meant to replace. The great thing about the eTrike is that the EPP closed capsule design makes it feel like you’re riding inside of a giant bike helmet. It’s a similar thought I’ve had when I’ve considered purchasing one of the popular Urban Arrow Family bakfiets (box bike).
If you’re interested in bringing this thing to life, pre-orders are being accepted now. For a little over $6K USD you can get on the waiting list. Honestly, that’s a pretty reasonable price in my opinion I just don’t know how well it would be received by other cyclists or car drivers in the US. It almost seems like the worst of both worlds while trying to offer the best of both worlds.
Anyone interested in ordering one?
https://ebiketips.road.cc/content/news/grant-sinclairs-iris-etrike-is-being-prepared-for-mass-production-4507
🛍 Grab Bag
Plan your next group trip with Bach
It’s the time of year when many of us start planning fun trips with our friends right?
Maybe you have a bachelor or bachelorette party coming up. Maybe you’re just trying to wrangle up some friends to take that trip that you promise you’ll take whenever you’ve had a few drinks. Whatever you have going on, you may benefit from planning the trip with an app called Bach.
I can’t say I love the name (short for bachelor(ette)?) but I do love the premise. Planning trips is hard enough on your own but can be extremely daunting when trying to plan for a large group of friends. The app was started in 2020 and recently raised another $9million of funding.
With the new funding, they plan to graduate from an app to full web experience that anyone can use to plan a variety of trips. And they’re also hoping to increase their destinations to 30 locations in the US in the coming months.
The service will allow you to invite your friends to a shared trip where you can discuss potential destinations, budget, or any other details of the trip. Then when the fun is over, it can also be used to settle up expenses and recount memories from the excursion. It’s a welcome addition to a space that has been sorely lacking in good options.
I’m absolutely going to use it the next time I’m planning a group trip and you should check it out as well if you’re headed to one of their destinations.
💬 Quote of the Week
"Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing."
-Phyllis Diller
🎥Content Recommendation
The Toys That Made Us
Here’s a light-hearted viewing recommendation for you this week.
I recently found myself enthralled by an episode of Netflix’s “The Toys That Made Us”
It’s hard not to get sucked into these documentary-style series that capitalize on nostalgia and the minutiae of collectibles and fan culture. This one isn’t new or trendy or even all that well-made but it’s hard not to watch.
No, I certainly wasn’t a rabid fan of Power Rangers toys as a kid, but I had a few of them. And I never really knew the whole story of how they got so popular so quickly. I was thoroughly entertained to learn about the process of producing the show using old Japanese footage spliced with modern American teen actors. It was clever and creator Haim Saban was clearly ahead of his time in terms of low-budet TV production and merchandising of a toy line that really had no business becoming as popular as it did. And apparently Power Rangers is still a highly profitable toy line, go figure.
Don’t worry, if you were more into Ninja Turtles (I loved them too) or My Little Pony, they have you covered with episodes on them too.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
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