Robotic butlers could be coming to a hotel near you
It looks like we're another step closer to having robots take over everything.
On Aug. 20, the Aloft hotel in Cupertino, California, will start a pilot program using a robotic butler (or Botlr) named A.L.O. (pronounced "el-oh"). Guests will be able to call the front desk and request items like extra towels or toothpaste, and a staff member will load it onto the Botlr and send it up to the room. Once the hotel room's number has been punched in, the Botlr makes its way through the hallways and to the elevator using Wi-Fi. If it works, you'll see Botlr fleets at close to 100 properties.
According to CNBC, the University of Oxford released a study saying that "47 percent of U.S. employment is at risk of being replaced by computerization." Starwood Hotels, which owns the Aloft brand, says that the Botlrs are not being introduced to act as substitutes for staff, but rather to make their lives easier by taking over minuscule tasks.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"It is certainly not replacing our staff but it is augmenting our ability to service our customers," Brian McGuinness, senior vice president for Aloft, told CNBC.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published