5.9.19 Boulder Weekly

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Publisher, Stewart Sallo Associate Publisher, Fran Zankowski Director of Operations/Controller, Benecia Beyer Circulation Manager, Cal Winn EDITORIAL Editor, Joel Dyer Managing Editor, Matt Cortina Senior Editor, Angela K. Evans Arts and Culture Editor, Caitlin Rockett Special Editions Editor, Emma Murray Editorial interns, Giselle Cesin, Lenah Reda Contributing Writers, Peter Alexander, Dave Anderson, Will Brendza, Rob Brezsny, Michael J. Casey, Paul Danish, Sarah Haas, Jim Hightower, Dave Kirby, John Lehndorff, Rico Moore, Amanda Moutinho, Leland Rucker, Dan Savage, Josh Schlossberg, Alan Sculley, Ryan Syrek, Mariah Taylor, Christi Turner, Betsy Welch, Sidni West, Tom Winter, Gary Zeidner SALES AND MARKETING Retail Sales Manager, Allen Carmichael Account Executives, Julian Bourke, Matthew Fischer Market Development Manager, Kellie Robinson Advertising Assistant, Jennifer Elkins Marketing Coordinator, Lara Henry Mrs. Boulder Weekly, Mari Nevar Bookkeeper, Veronica Turner PRODUCTION Art Director, Susan France Senior Graphic Designer, Mark Goodman Graphic Designer, Daisy Bauer CIRCULATION TEAM Dave Hastie, Dan Hill, George LaRoe, Jeffrey Lohrius, Elizabeth Ouslie, Rick Slama

May 9, 2019 Volume XXVI, Number 39 As Boulder County's only independently owned newspaper, Boulder Weekly is dedicated to illuminating truth, advancing justice and protecting the First Amendment through ethical, no-holds-barred journalism and thought-provoking opinion writing. Free every Thursday since 1993, the Weekly also offers the county's most comprehensive arts and entertainment coverage. Read the print version, or visit www.boulderweekly.com. Boulder Weekly does not accept unsolicited editorial submissions. If you're interested in writing for the paper, please send queries to: editorial@ boulderweekly.com. Any materials sent to Boulder Weekly become the property of the newspaper. 690 South Lashley Lane, Boulder, CO, 80305 p 303.494.5511 f 303.494.2585 editorial@boulderweekly.com www.boulderweekly.com Boulder Weekly is published every Thursday. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. © 2019 Boulder Weekly, Inc., all rights reserved.

Boulder Weekly

welcomes your correspondence via email (letters@ boulderweekly.com) or the comments section of our website at www.boulderweekly.com. Preference will be given to short letters (under 300 words) that deal with recent stories or local issues, and letters may be edited for style, length and libel. Letters should include your name, address and telephone number for verification. We do not publish anonymous letters or those signed with pseudonyms. Letters become the property of Boulder Weekly and will be published on our website.

BOULDER COUNTY’S INDEPENDENT VOICE

FOR MORE INFORMATION on Jim Hightower’s work — and to subscribe to his award-winning monthly newsletter, The Hightower Lowdown — visit www.jimhightower.com.

Big Mac’s new Big Data ‘innovation’ by Jim Hightower

T

he great thing about corporate giants is that they are such amazing business innovators. For example, in the category of “wheel-spinning” innovation — i.e., trying to change a corporation’s course without actually changing anything — it’s hard to top McDonald’s. For several years, the fastfood chain has been losing customers to younger chains with healthier, more-stylish offerings. So, CEO Steve Easterbrook has tried to recoup the losses with PR tricks, such as calling the menu “healthy” and “fresh.” But a McNugget and fries are still what they are, so people have not bitten the PR bait. I

Now, though — Eureka! — he’s hit on an innovation that’ll surely cause hungry eaters to flock to the Golden Arches: artificial intelligence. Yes, exclaimed Steve-the-Innovator, consumers need a robotic order-taker to advise them on what to order — all based on AI’s ability to digest unlimited data about the weather, traffic, time of day and what other people are ordering. “Decision technology” it’s called, and the CEO spent 300 million McDollars to buy these so-called thinking machines, which the maker claims will provide “the rapid and scalable creation of highly targeted digital MAY 9, 2019

interactions.” Now, what could be more inviting than that? Easterbrook adds excitedly that his innovative deployment of this artificial intelligence network will provide an “even more personalized customer experience.” Sure, Steve, nothing like more computers to add a warm, personal touch to make a meal more appealing. Far from helping customers, McDonald’s snazzy new AI ordering system will be helping the corporation by silently compiling personal information on you, ranging from your “movement patterns” to your license plate number. As Easterbrook admits, McDonald’s will use the technology to “make the most” of the data collected. This opinion column does not necessarily reflect the views of Boulder Weekly. I

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