Join Ruth as we explore how, after McDonald’s scrapped its drive-thru AI for mistakes like adding bacon to ice cream, chatbots and speech recognition really work, and why machine learning still depends on human judgement to improve.
Cost: £3.99 | Free for paid subscribers & members
Date: Monday, 9 February 2026
Time: 6:00 PM
1 sessions • Ends 09 Feb • Live course
Here's the full schedule for this course:
Each session is available on catch up for at least 7 days
Course type: live
Level: Beginner
Host: Dr Ruth Stalker-Firth
As McDonalds recently withdrew its AI from the drive-thru after it kept putting bacon on ice-cream, we will take a peek under the hood of chatbots and speech recognition to see why machine learning would ‘think’ that bacon is a good topping for ice-cream and why it couldn’t possibly improve without a human which is probably why they decided to cut out the middleman and get a human to do its job. Zoom log in details will be included at the bottom of your confirmation email after you have registered.
Hi, I’m Ruth, I write and teach about technology, exploring how people use tech and how it shapes our lives. I’ve worked as a web designer and lecturer since 2001, sharing my passion for human-computer interaction online and at universities.
