The author relates his frustration with restaurants that replace physical menus with QR Codes during travels. Although he recognizes the practicality, he has not gotten used to this change, as he needs to pick up his phone, open the camera, wait for the page to load, and enlarge the letters, precisely when he would like to put the device aside.
The author describes the traditional experience of being served with a physical menu as an important part of the meal. The waiter presents the establishment, gives time for choosing, and returns to explain the dishes, ingredients, and suggestions of the day. Flipping through the pages, asking questions, and hearing recommendations are all part of the gastronomic experience.
According to the author, the QR Code is no longer the worst technological innovation reserved for menus. A new trend is emerging: restaurants are replacing real photographs of dishes with images created by artificial intelligence.
The practice has already received an unattractive nickname: "AI food slop," something like "artificial intelligence slop," a term that summarizes customers' disappointment with this trend.
