Overheard a barista say 'the AI roaster dials itself now' and it got me thinking

I was grabbing coffee at this spot in Portland last week, and the guy behind the counter mentioned their new roaster uses machine learning to adjust temperature and airflow automatically based on the bean. At first I thought it was just marketing hype, but he showed me the app logging each batch's flavor scores and adjustments. It made me wonder how many small businesses like mine could actually benefit from AI tools like that without losing the human touch. Has anyone else seen AI creep into unexpected trades like coffee roasting or painting?

3 comments

3 Comments

gracea191mo ago

Three different baristas showed me their AI profiles on their phones last month.

graym491mo ago

Three baristas showing you AI profiles in one month, that's like getting served by a robot uprising at a coffee shop. Guess I should start carrying around a laminated card with my personality highlights in case I ever want a latte from you. @the_morgan makes a fair point about tools versus real connection, but I think I'd just ask them to write my order on a napkin like the old days.

the_morgan1mo ago

So I hear what you're saying @gracea19 but honestly I see it differently. Baristas showing off AI profiles doesn't really bother me because they're just using a tool to make their work a little easier. A lot of people in customer service jobs use stuff like that to build better connections with customers, not to replace real conversation. If anything, it's kind of smart of them to save time on small talk so they can focus on making a good drink. I don't see how it's any different from using a script or a notepad with talking points. The real connection still happens when you're face to face, not through a phone screen.