COLUMBIA, Md. — Among the traditional Turkish decor at the Cazbar restaurant on Snowden River Parkway, you may find a modern, sleek robot smoothly gliding through tables.
It’s not a replacement for staff, but rather provides a helping hand.
“This is a great, I would say, example of AI seamlessly and not disruptively entering the workforce," Manager Ismail Elmas said.
WATCH: Good food, bellydancing and now, robots
They began using them about two years ago.
“I wasn't sure how they were going to fit into the scheme," he explained. "But they've really turned out to be valuable. Especially if you ask the servers."
“For the big tables, it can carry a lot, for the food runners it makes their lives easier and our lives easier,” server Ekrem Tuken said.
Even when the restaurant is bustling on Friday and Saturday nights during their featured belly dancing shows, the robots are never in the way.
“They’re very courteous,” Elmas explained.
The press of a button sends the robots to the table, where servers place the orders on the screens. They then return to their home base by the kitchen, and food is placed on their many trays.
With another press of the button, the food is brought right to the table, and the human servers take over again.
They're a big hit with customers, like Donna Knutson, who comes to Cazbar for special events like her birthday.
“They are kind of cool,” she said.
She says she's interested to see how they may be used in the future. And like the Cazbar staff, is optimistic it'll be used for the benefit of everyone.
“Dynamite can help people cut through mountains, it can help create the foundation for buildings, and it can blow people up. It's what you do with the tool that makes the difference,” Knutson said.
“The common question is like- ‘Are you afraid that you're going to lose your job?' Now it's the beginning, but I don't think it's just going to replace the whole human being, but it's going to help,” Tucken said.
