The idea of a bot pouring and serving drinks might unsettle some people, but for CNBC host Jim Cramer, it sounded more like a solution to a costly problem he dealt with for years.
Tired of bartenders skimming cash at his Brooklyn bar, Cramer once pitched Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang the idea of an AI-powered bartender, the CNBC host said on the “Big Technology” podcast in December.
“I told Jensen that I wanted to see a bartender that’s not human because humans steal cash,” Cramer said. “It’s too much cash. I was stolen from every single day for 10 years. But a machine wouldn’t.”
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Cramer described a ‘Waymo-like’ bartender, referring to Google’s self-driving cars, that could make decisions and run his bar more efficiently. Cramer said Huang told him the idea could actually be a reality within a few years.
“He said it’s gonna happen within the next two, three years,” Cramer told podcast host Alex Kantrowitz. “If we could get a bartender who can pour five drinks at once and doesn’t steal, that is something that will give you an ROI to beat the band.”
Cramer used to own Bar San Miguel, a Mexican restaurant and bar in Brooklyn, which he later sold.
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Cramer has been candid about AI’s effect on jobs and wants people to face the changes head-on. Earlier this month, he said February’s sharp drop in information sector jobs shows AI is already reshaping the workforce.
“It’s the beginning,” Cramer said on CNBC. “People don’t want to hire and they’re letting people go. It’s just happening. Transportation, warehousing—that’s robot—they’re starting to use robots, and we just have to start recognizing.”
Despite AI’s growing impact on jobs, Cramer hasn’t shied away from saying companies need to use it to do more with less. In October, he praised Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) decision to lay off 14,000 workers to cut costs, saying he likes that the company is focused on efficiency and increasing shareholder value.
“Now they’re firing people because they figured out how to make the remaining workforce more productive using AI,” Cramer said. “It might have taken longer than any of us hoped, but I’ve got to tell you, I believe it. AI is ready to help big companies figure out who can do more with less.”
