Soon, however, those bar staff might not even be human. Enter Cecilia, a robotic bartender that mixes and serves cocktails, and uses artificial intelligence (AI) to talk to customers in much the same way that Alexa, on an Amazon Echo speaker, or Siri, on an iPhone can respond to you. The company says that each unit can be filled with 70 litres of different types of spirits, and that it can serve up to 120 cocktails per hour. Customers can either buy a Cecilia for $45,000 (£34,000), or hire one for $2,000 a month. Mr Kobi believes that the traditionally change-resistant pubs and bars sector may increasingly turn to such technology in a bid to "wow" customers, and to stand out from the crowd. Celilia.AI is also aiming the system at hotels, airports, stadiums, casinos and cruise ships. Proponents of bartending robots also note that they can help bars become more efficient - which, in turn, helps their bottom line. There's always a shortage of workers. You have to train them, but then they leave. There's a huge turnover of staff. As is the case with other industries, the rise of bartending robotics is likely to raise concerns about job losses.
