Burger King Called Out Over Dystopian New AI Program That Tracks If Workers Sound 'Friendly' Enough

Fast food giant Burger King might be the home of the Whopper, but there's another patty that has earned the burger chain a fair amount of unwanted attention.

The patty in question is an AI chatbot named, you guessed it, "Patty," intended to improve the customer experience at the chain's franchises.

Part of a new web and app platform called BK assist, Patty's main goal is to offer training and support for Burger King staff.

This includes helping staff members remember ingredients to limited time menu offerings and alerting them if an item is no longer available.

However, what has gotten everyone talking about Patty is that it will also analyze conversations between staff and customers, in an effort to collect data on their "friendliness."

While a representative from Burger King told NBC News that Patty isn't intended to "score" Burger King staff, nor will they listen to all their conversations, they will start listening to them as soon as they begin placing an order with a customer, and will gather data points using key words such as "please" and 'thank you."

In the words of Burger King's Chief Digital Officer, Thibault Roux:

"One of the ways that we started this was, you know, picking certain keywords."

"... but it’s one mechanism that was used to iterate on how to define friendliness."

"It’s really a coaching tool, right?"

"To help you as an employee become more hospitable, and we’re going to help you also with certain operation flaws that may occur that can be a little bit complex."

Roux went on to clarify, however, that customers shouldn't expect AI to replace Burger King staff members, saying they have tested it in close to 100 restaurants, but still feel it was a "risky bet."

Patty was met with a hefty amount of skepticism on X (formerly Twitter), with many feeling this was akin to replacing workers with AI bots, and others pointing out that BK could improve friendliness and workflow with higher wages and better working conditions:

Patty is currently being tested in close to 500 U.S. Burger King locations, and the company plans to launch it nationwide by the end of the year.