Ever since the early 1900s the fear of robots replacing humans has been increasing. Robots began by placing factory workers, but went on to replace elevator operators, train station ticket masters and bridge toll collectors. However, this wave of technology has begun to advance into the fast food industry. The job of being a fast food cashier is often considered to be widely available with room to advance, so, in the near-future, can such a well-known job be replaced by a robot?

When fast food restaurant employees began to protest for 15 dollar wages, fast food chains began to consider replacing them entirely. During an interview, former McDonald’s CEO Ed Rensi spoke to Fox Business about that very subject.

“I guarantee you if a $15 minimum wage goes across the country you’re going to see a job loss like you can’t believe . . . it’s cheaper to buy a $35,000 robotic arm than it is to hire an employee who’s inefficient making $15 an hour bagging French fries,” Rensi said.

Days after Rensi discussed the possibility of a robot takeover in the fast food industry, Current McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook stepped in to ease the tension.

“I don’t see it being a risk to job elimination,” Easterbrook said during an annual shareholder meeting. “Ultimately we’re in the service business, and we’re competing with other opportunities for people to eat and drink out. Frankly, we will always have an important human element.”

The battle for higher wages also prompted another fast food restaurant chain, Wendy’s, to take steps towards an automated staff. They hope to have installed self-serve ordering kiosks in 1,000 of its restaurants by the end of the year. Wendy’s Chief Operating Officer said that would reduce labor costs. Even a KFC restaurant in China has begun to implement robots to take customers orders.

“The higher minimum wages are, the more attractive autonomous customer service is… [sic]” said Andy Puzder, CEO of Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr.’s parent company, in a 2016 interview with Business Insider.

It seems that McDonald’s is holding off on replacing its cashiers with robotic kiosks, but it does not seem like its competitors share its sentiment on human customer service. Wendy’s, KFC, and other iconic fast food restaurant chains could be drastically different by the end of the year. The job title of fast food cashier seems to be safe for now, but it could be the next job to be replaced by our man-made helper.