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Caterers in China Are Using AI To Spot Unhygienic Cooks, Report Says (venturebeat.com)

If you've ever harbored doubts about the hygiene of the cooks flipping your burger and frying your fries, you're definitely not the only one. From a report: Thepaper.cn reports that local authorities in eastern China have tapped artificial intelligence (AI) to clamp down on unsanitary cooks in kitchens -- and to reward those who adhere to best practices. According to the report, a camera-based system currently being piloted in the Zhejiang city of Shaoxing automatically recognizes "poor [sanitation] habits" and alerts managers to offending workers via a mobile app. It's reportedly the fruit of a six-year project -- Sunshine Kitchen -- that seeks to bring transparency to food preparation in catering, hotels, school cafeterias, and restaurants.

40 comments

  1. That is a great idea by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

    Some may find that as creepy but honestly if I were a cook I would welcome something that alerted me if I could be doing better with food safety.

    Similar to how in coding, I do not mind a plethora of warnings and errors from a compiler, because cleaning those up I can realize if I've started to slack in some ways with regards to good coding habits or proper use of the language at hand.

    Food prep is such an area that can make a big difference in public safety though, it's great to see AI being used in this way.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re: That is a great idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Smithers who is that man? He looks unhygienic

    2. Re: That is a great idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's SuperKendall, Sir. One of the code monkeys from section seven-G.

    3. Re:That is a great idea by lgw · · Score: 3, Interesting

      And if those compiler errors affected your social credit score?

      There will always be a positive reason for embracing each creep forward by the totalitarian panopticon. Freedom requires accepting minor harm from others, as the other choice is total control (whether by government or employer, it's not good). Less worrying if it's just your boss doing it, perhaps, until every boss does it at which point it might as well be government.

      I've worked directly with the automated systems that monitor the minute-by-minute performance of Amazon warehouse employees. It's creepy as fuck. Humanity will not be made happier by having our every little mistake highlighted by machine. Being constantly observed closely, even by machine, is psychologically damaging.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    4. Re:That is a great idea by CrimsonAvenger · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Some may find that as creepy but honestly if I were a cook I would welcome something that alerted me if I could be doing better with food safety.

      So, how do you feel about TFA, which isn't talking about something to alert the cooks to food safety problems, but alerting the EMPLOYER of the cook to food safety problems caused by the cook?

      Myself, I wouldn't mind at all using an app that tried to teach me better food safety by warning me when I was doing something dumb. But I'm not that enamored of the idea of an app to warn my employer that I'm doing something dumb without bothering to let me in on the problem (and attempt to correct it) first....

      --

      "I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
    5. Re:That is a great idea by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 1

      Positive = the cook receives a notice
      Negative = the boss receives a notice
      Deceptive = both receive a notice. It will ostensibly be used to alert the cooks to unsanitary practices, but its ultimate goal is to give management another stick to beat them with.

      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    6. Re:That is a great idea by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      Like with a lot of technologies it isn't what it does, but how it is implemented.
      If your compiler send the report of warnings over to HR, where your raise is based on how many times you have a used a variable that you have never used, or had some debug code that you kept in with an "if (0) {"

      For the cooks, if this lets them know they need to wash their hands, because they had just sneezed, this can be a friendly reminder. But if their face pops up on a Jumbo-tron saying this man is unhygienic avoid at all cost.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    7. Re:That is a great idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're missing the forest for the trees. Would you like those compiler warnings applied to your cooking at home? Would you like them added to your conversations with people? Say "slippery slope" all you want; when something experiences sigmoidal growth,then a slippery slope is an accurate metaphor.

    8. Re:That is a great idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      but honestly if I were a cook I would welcome something that alerted me if I could be doing better with food safety

      And yet there are probably thousands and thousands of cooks who don't give a shit about food safety.

      Like, oh, these idiots.

      As much as I think this surveillance by AI and app is a little creepy, I as a customer have seen enough things from the dining room to know that not everyone who works in a restaurant knows or cares about food safety.

      A few months ago, the wife and I tried a new restaurant for brunch. We were like "meh, it's a middling breakfast buffet, but it's affordable and not terrible". After we had eaten, I looked over and one of the waiters was standing in the door to the kitchen with his back to the dining area clipping his nails. And you pretty much knew those were just flying off into the kitchen.

      I could tell, because pretty much only nail clippers sound like that.

      As I was paying our bill, I discretely told our waitress that clipping nails in a kitchen was a good way to get your kitchen closed, and that unfortunately we would not be coming back, ever. There are no second chances when I see shit like that.

      I've been in restaurants and had to tell the wait staff there was neither soap nor paper towel in the men's room, despite having seen kitchen staff going to that bathroom. Wait, what, there is no soap of paper towel but your cooks are using that bathroom and going back to work?

      I've been to restaurants where within a few hours everyone at the table was having the same intestinal issues.

      You give far too much credit to people wanting to do better or even caring. Half the time they know better, but don't give a fuck, and it's not easy to tell which places are which.

    9. Re:That is a great idea by Joce640k · · Score: 1

      Can it also detect use of Gutter Oil?

      https://www.google.com/search?...

      --
      No sig today...
    10. Re:That is a great idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Actual:
      Nobody receives a notice, the cook's social credit score juts goes down, then because their employee has low social credit the boss's score also goes down. If The Party ever (possibly years later) takes a particular interest in the cook or boss the log about unhygienic behavior is availabe to cite but it will lack any significant detail so the narrative can be crafted to fit the current need without any inconvenient facts messing it up.

    11. Re:That is a great idea by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Some may find that as creepy but honestly if I were a cook I would welcome something that alerted me if I could be doing better with food safety.

      It could be of particular value to those who have Alzheimers, if sufficiently developed, as it could remind them if they had just handled raw chicken to wash their hands, use a different knife, cutting board, etc.

  2. Snort by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Caterers in China Are Using AI To Spot Unhygienic Cooks, Report Says

    Real story: China is using machine vision to bypass the problem of corrupt inspectors. And it's a damned good idea, too. It raises the bar for bribery if a machine-interpreted photograph has to be taken of the workplace. To my mind, each and every inspection of basically anything ought to be evidential.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    1. Re:Snort by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      it's probably just mechanical turked

    2. Re:Snort by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Still helps curb bribery. How do you accept a bribe from an anonymous photo?

    3. Re:Snort by chill · · Score: 1

      Bitcoin.

      --
      Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
    4. Re:Snort by grep+-v+'.*'+* · · Score: 1

      Real story: China is using machine vision to bypass the problem of corrupt inspectors.

      Adding in AI gives a new meaning to the phrase "corrupt inspectors." If it uses multiple CPUs, then is that "Too many cooks?"

      I'm sorry Dave, you're adding too much salt to that soup.
      Mr. Campbell of Soup: ShuddUUUppp.

      --
      If the universe is someone's simulation -- does that mean the stars are just stuck pixels?
  3. Doesn't matter how hygenic the cooks are if by bobstreo · · Score: 1

    there are mice and roaches running all over the place. Or if food falls on the floor, or if the expiration date of foodstuffs which has long since passed.

    So you have to monitor the cooks, and the facilities. Maybe even report when the manager is tapping a young worker on the food prep table.

  4. brain snap by TimothyHollins · · Score: 1

    Did anyone else read that as "Catheters in China Are Using AI To Spot Unhygienic Cooks, Report Says"?

    I did not like that visualization.

    1. Re:brain snap by zlives · · Score: 1

      you misspelled cocks

  5. "Warning : Brown paper bag over inspection device" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    " It raises the bar for bribery if a machine-interpreted photograph has to be taken of the workplace" - Or the technological equivalent of cheating, which China is heavily invested in already... "Error : defeated by broadcast TV cooking program"

  6. "Ken doll at work at the apology plant" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4o9-vGJ0sro

  7. China? by fluffernutter · · Score: 1

    Don't they put horse hair in some food to act as a filler?

    --
    Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
  8. Manna? by aaronb1138 · · Score: 1

    How long until they close the loop and add a headset hooked into AI to control the employees every move?

    http://marshallbrain.com/manna1.htm

  9. Ewwww by sjbe · · Score: 1

    Did anyone else read that as "Catheters in China Are Using AI To Spot Unhygienic Cooks, Report Says"?

    No, just you. Funny though...

    I did not like that visualization.

    Yeah that one will be hard to not see.

  10. Basic pattern matching is not AI! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    And sorry, but a bunch of matrix multiplications do not simulate a neural nets. They are just a network of weights. That's why they still suck so much, compared to e.g. real brains, or even realistic spiking neural nets with real-life activation curves.

  11. I’ve been to china by Ryanrule · · Score: 1

    I would rather it tried to find the tiny percentage of hygienic cooks.

  12. Same difference by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    So, how do you feel about TFA, which isn't talking about something to alert the cooks to food safety problems, but alerting the EMPLOYER of the cook to food safety problems caused by the cook?

    As someone who strives for excellence, I feel pretty damn good about that - the effect is the same, where the employer would tell me if there were any problems.

    Something you are discounting is finally truly good employees could be recognized and rewarded on the merit of how well they work, rather than on how good they are at looking like they are working when the employer is paying attention.

    Why would you feel any differently?

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  13. For coders, they already do... by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    And if those compiler errors affected your social credit score?

    For programmers they already do, if you spend any time on sites like StackOverflow, or passing along advice on Twitter - all of the casual mistakes you might make are revealed there with the effect of a very real social score (in the case of Stack Overflow, quite a literal score).

    They also do, in that every person you work with (including managers) can (and will) see and evaluate your code...

    Programmers of all people should be used to the idea of social credit, as we have been living the reality of it forever.

    There will always be a positive reason for embracing each creep forward by the totalitarian panopticon.

    Knowledge by itself is not totalitarian. Helping to correct food preparation is an excellent idea, the employer knowing is an excellent idea. Where it starts to get tricky is beyond that realm - should the state know? Maybe in some cases to understand something like an outbreak of food poisoning? Maybe it's a pool of info about you that should only be released with your permission to potential employers, except in the case of emergency... but there are a lot of useful ways that information can end up in a score that is not totalitarian. Sure China's system itself probably crosses the line in a lot of ways, but even that is useful in understanding better where the line actually is - and where others think it is.

    I've worked directly with the automated systems that monitor the minute-by-minute performance of Amazon warehouse employees. It's creepy as fuck.

    If I were working there I would not find it creepy at all, because you expect warehouses with lots of easily snagged goods to be monitored out the wazoo.

    Remember cameras also protect YOU, from false allegations. In a world that is increasingly prone to false charges if people do not like you, an absolute record of truth is so useful that normal citizens should probably be wearing body cameras 24x7 whenever out in public.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:For coders, they already do... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're a blathering moronic apologist, nobody cares.

    2. Re:For coders, they already do... by lgw · · Score: 1

      I don't think you're following the point here.

      Does you stack overflow score prevent you from using public transport? No? That's the difference in China.

      Does your boss come and "coach" you in any hour in which you had a compiler error? No? Of course you're OK with it. Pack less than the desired number of boxes per hour in an Amazon warehouse and you'll be made to feel the pressure. Need 5 minutes for the restroom, better work extra hard! Feeling a bit off from cold medication? Plan to get written up. Every hour. Every day. Perfection is assured by monitoring, and any normal human failing will be punished.

      --
      Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
    3. Re:For coders, they already do... by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      Does you stack overflow score prevent you from using public transport? No? That's the difference in China.

      As I said a trillion billion times, of course that aspect is bad. I find it odd technologists here seem unable to separate two distinct concepts and argue the merits of each independently.

      Does your boss come and "coach" you in any hour in which you had a compiler error?

      Are you fucking kidding me, here???? Have you EVER programmed in a team. If you check a compiler breaking error into the build system it's a LOT more people than just your manager, that are going to be coming to you and "coaching" you immediately, and if it happened with any regularity you would be gone.

      Pack less than the desired number of boxes per hour in an Amazon warehouse and you'll be made to feel the pressure

      As you should because that is the qualification for the job. Amazon knows how many packages is reasonable to expect someone to process, why should slackers get breaks while the rest of the people work hard to make up for them? Screw that, underperforms are welcome in no industry.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  14. "AI" is the new "blockchain" by Dorianny · · Score: 1

    The game hasn't changed. Put out a press release with the trendy buzzwords and watch the free publicity roll-in

  15. Where is the slope by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    I would argue one data point does not a slope make. This is just data being collected on job performance, the way a LOT of other jobs have performance monitored. Why is it a problem now that we can actually monitor food handling as well as we can monitor output from other work, like programming or accounting work?

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Where is the slope by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      >I would argue one data point does not a slope make

      In regards to China, that's such an ignorant comment to make as to be facetious. The other data points here would be "social credit score being used to approve / disapprove home loans", "social credit score being used to determine who can board a plane", "social credit score being used to publicly shame debtors", etc. etc. If you are truly unaware of these "data points", then you simply haven't been reading the news.

    2. Re:Where is the slope by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      I said in other comments that China had obviously taken things too far. Here I am talking purely about the technology of monitoring cooks. Do you not think that is a good idea? Or would you rather life a life wallowing in filth and disease because you are afraid other countries may go the direction of China?

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  16. It's creepy when it's not *yours*! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's creepy, when somebody *else* gets to judge/control you. Especially that somebody else is not your friend. And worst of all: If it's a permanent record (like a log file). Because they can still judge/control you for it, 20 years later. (Hence the EU's "right to be forgotten".)
    No wait, it can still get worse: If *everyone* else can judge/control you 20 years later. (Hence the EU's data protection laws.)
    Because it's said that statistically, there are about 5000 people on this planet with the means and the motivation to murder you for an action ... no matter what that action is!
    And it doesn't even take that. A few SJWs or a dominating force like a government or corporation, are enough.

  17. KEN DOLL STRIVES FOR EXCELLENCE IN LYING? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nobody suspected you "strived" for anything except getting your head out of your asshole where it's been stuck for a decade. Good luck faggot apologist.

  18. hrmm [koff a hachk hakkkkk] by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    But will it detect my nose picking and butt scratching? How about with the spatula?

    Also, sometimes a man just needs to "adjust" if you know what I mean.