Carl's Jr. CEO Wants to Open an Automated Restaurant Free of Human Workers

As minimum wages across the country rise and restaurants face increased labor costs, one fast food CEO is thinking about replacing human workers with machines. Carl's Jr. head honcho Andy Puzder wants to open a new restaurant concept that's "employee-free," reports Business Insider.

Puzder was inspired by a visit to Eatsa, the futuristic San Francisco-born restaurant where patrons order via tablet and retrieve their food from automated cubbies. He believes the idea of a restaurant free of social interaction could be especially appealing to millennials, noting that young people seem particularly fond of ordering from kiosks over humans.

For businesses that view their employees as simply obstacles to their profits rather than living, breathing people, clearly the benefits of non-human workers are many: "They're always polite, they always upsell, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, there's never a slip-and-fall, or an age, sex, or race discrimination case," Puzder tells Business Insider.

Robot restaurants have already infiltrated other parts of the world: China has restaurants staffed with robot chefs and robot waiters, and there are even robot bartenders on cruise ships now. The idea that robots and humans could eventually be competing for employment doesn't exactly seem fair, seeing as how automatons don't have families to feed.

Video: Robots Cook Food and Shake Cocktails, What's Next?