~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘, 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗩𝗔𝗖𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗜𝗚 𝗠𝗔𝗖

                                          

Glancing at my Iphone at 6:28 AM, it was obvious that some form of artificial intelligence was monitoring my life, suggesting I "start writing" about my "morning outing" at McDonald's May 19.

Above the suggestion was a small map of the businesses clustered at the corner of I-69 and Ruben Torres Boulevard; McDonald's, Super Cream and, across the boulevard, Red Lobster.  

Guilty as charged: for the first time in several months, I'd breakfasted at Mickey D's, as Black folks in Little Rock used to call it, my normal breakfast fare of sausage biscuit, hashbrown patty, small coffee with two Equals and a "glass" of ice water, 2 packets of ketchup and two of grape jelly.

Had Ana been with me the bill would have been considerably more than $5.07, not because she's anything approaching gluttonous, but because her McDonald's app gives her "points" for what she orders, along with a free burrito she never eats.  Complicating things, she sometimes asks what I'm eating so she can get the item "free."  Whatever!

It occurred to me that I've probably been frequenting McDonald's longer than anyone in Brownsville, not just because of sheer age, but because that particular restaurant came to Seattle years before it came to South Texas, back when hamburgers were 15 cents and french fries a dime.  

Growing up in a poor family, we ate out perhaps four or five times total before I left home: McDonald's, a Chinese restaurant where my sister and I got only a small bowl of white rice and soy sauce, and once at a "too expensive" Ivar's Acres of Clams on Pier 54.

Since moving to the U.S. and marrying me, Ana's been to 30 states, and the golden arches, while not fine dining, gives us a certain familiarity, even though the staff may vary.  In Brownsville, the outlet is staffed totally by Hispanic teenagers and twenty-somethings, whereas in Iowa, an old farmer, sitting on a stool wearing overhauls, likely in his mid-70's, handed us our order after being reminded to face the receiving window.  

OK, back to AI. AI also knows I ordered at at 10:58 AM, just before breakfast stopped being served.  It may also know I asked the counter girl if they were still serving breakfast and she replied in the affirmative.

The young woman bringing the tray to my table had to go back for the cup of ice water I'd requested and the two packets of ketchup, but I'm sure AI is well aware of that.  I made one visit to the restroom while dining, but I'm not saying anything AI doesn't already know.  Yes, I washed my hands.  Ask AI.

As most of us already know, artificial intelligence is the death of privacy.  Next to be openly revealed will be our thoughts, although facial expressions, gestures and eye movements already give those away.  A few decades ago, we could eat a 15 cent hamburger and few knew.  Now, a Big Mac is $5.29 and our life is an open book.