'Al on menu' should benefit customers, not merely drive up costs

I read with interest the article on how food and beverage firms are embracing artificial intelligence to enhance their operations and customer experience (AI on the S’pore menu: F&B firms use tech to suggest drinks for health, create salad bowls and more, Oct 18).

- Josephine Lim Teo Hwee

However, as a regular diner, I can’t help but question whether this “AI on the menu” trend truly benefits consumers or merely drives up costs, with little real improvement.

Take the example of Kopitiam at Mapletree Business City, which features an Al avatar named Kimberly that recommends stalls, locates available seats through live heat maps, and supports multiple languages.