Las Vegas, at the forefront of artificial intelligence: robots already replacing waiters and casino security guards

Restaurants, bars, casinos and other tourist attractions in the city have begun using AI instead of humans to perform some tasks, NPR reported Monday. Between 38% and 65% of jobs in southern Nevada, an area where Las Vegas is the most populous city, could be automated by 2035, according to a 2019 article in the Nevada Independent.

The Culinary Union, which has about 60,000 members of the Nevada service sector, plans to negotiate an agreement – which it hopes to achieve before the end of the year – to prevent artificial intelligence from taking away thousands of jobs.

Ted Pappageorge, secretary and treasurer of the Culinary Union, told NPR that members are even considering striking for greater protection. "We would like to say that we will be able to reach an agreement," Pappageorge said. "But if we have to, we're going to fight a big battle and do whatever it takes, including a tech strike."

As Business Insider has published, AI is on the verge of completely eliminating some jobs and substantially changing others.

In that sense, it is already easy to find examples of this automation in Las Vegas. On TikTok, user "emgaudy3" posted a video in April showing a robotic arm mixing a pineapple-flavored cocktail. "A robot is about to make me a drink," says the woman in the video.

In the video, the robotic arm can be seen holding a cocktail shaker while extending its hand towards the ceiling, where different types of drinks are suspended. After mixing some ingredients and adding ice, the robot shakes the drink before pouring it into a glass.

Tipsy Robot, the name of the robot bar that appears in this TikTok video, already has two locations in downtown Las Vegas, according to NPR. Sabrina Bergman, who works at one of these establishments, told the media that humans have yet to correct the mistakes that robotic arms make, such as tipping over glasses or filling them too little.

Another example would be the M Resort, a hotel located south of Las Vegas, in Henderson (Nevada), which since the beginning of the year has also begun using robots as security officers in its parking lot. TikTok user "lasvegaslina" posted a video in June in which you can see one of these robots in action.

In February, local television station KVVU reported that "the robot scours the area in search of possible problems thanks to its 50 cameras and sensors."

However, some workers maintain that artificial intelligence cannot completely replace the work they do.

Holly Lang, a cocktail waitress at the MGM Grand, told NPR that she hopes the Culinary Union will negotiate measures to protect jobs like hers. Still, she has argued that robots are not capable of providing the same personal service that many Las Vegas employees offer. "We have a lot of regular customers who come for the personal interaction. They don't come for the technology," Lang said. "There are things that cannot be replaced."