Will MIT's Smartphone-Controlled Makr Shakr Robot Replace Bartenders?

Sorry, bartenders, but MIT has created a robot that will replace you. GigaOM reports that the Makr Shakr, made in partnership with Coke and Bacardi, is "a smartphone-controlled mixologist that can make an infinite number of drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) with the touch of a few buttons." The machine is slated to be unveiled this week at the Google I/O 2013 conference. It's not the first mixologist robot: others, including the Bartendro, have come before, but here's something especially creepy about this one. A short YouTube video showing the Makr Shakr in action closes with a quote by the Dutch artist Constant Anton Nieuwenhuys, who says that our species will become known as "homo ludens" and will dwell in a robot-facilitated society in which "the need to work is replaces by a nomadic life of creative play, a modern return to Eden." Well sure, think about how much free time you have thanks to computers. See the video below.

· Robot Bartenders Are The New Mixologists [EN]
· MIT and Coke Show Off a Smartphone-Controlled Bartender [GigaOM via Tuaw]
· Makr Shakr [YouTube via Official Site]