Singapore has had a lot of technological advancements for the past years trying to replace jobs run by people with machines. Now, it's considering another man versus machine scenario by allowing machines to run its food courts. Singapore's recent efforts on the latest technological advancement would be played out at the second terminal of Changi Airport's food court.
While hungry passengers are queuing in for their flights, they can take advantage of the machine-operated food court as reported by Bloomberg. The passengers are allowed to choose their own food from a machine, with minimal human supervision, compared to other food courts in the island that involves a lot of workforce. For example, passengers can choose their own chicken rice or noodles from a dispensing machine, pay via credit card and collect their food of choice.
According to The Straits Times, the Singaporean government is implementing this solution to address human resources issues. This kind of man versus machine trend, that is widely spreading all throughout Singapore, appears to be caused by a rapidly ageing population and decreasing fertility rates. The authorities also imposed restrictions on foreign workers from entering, thus hindering the growth of its labor force.
Singapore's food industry also faces a decline in economic growth and using vending machines would help lower manpower wage and rental costs. David Mann, chief economist for Asia at Standard Chartered Plc., said that "Productivity is a vital component of growth especially for when labor contribution to growth is declining, especially in advanced economies such as Singapore." It would also help the population to eat healthy by putting healthy food options in the machines.
This automated approach that Singapore is currently taking action is not only present in the food industry, but as well in transportation. Self-driving taxis and face-reading payment methods for rail passengers have also been popping out across the city.
Who will take over in this man versus machine scenario?
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