‘Who am I tipping now?’ As AI increases sales at Fenway Park and TD Garden, workers are left feeling underpaid. - The Boston Globe

What’s happening at Fenway shows how artificial intelligence is starting to reshape the labor force. AI is not only reducing the number of people needed to handle certain tasks, but it’s also changing the work that people do, their hours, and the amount they earn.

The automation of tasks performed by humans goes back centuries, but it has been largely concentrated in industries such as manufacturing and agriculture. AI, however, is bringing automation to the service industry, threatening not only to upend the jobs of workers like Savage, but also those of software coders, consultants, writers, and other professionals.

Workers have taken to picket lines in recent years to battle the wide spread of AI, including Hollywood actors and writers, and ride-hailing drivers advocating against the legalization of self-driving cars in Massachusetts.

Sam Ransbotham, professor of analytics at Boston College, foresees an initial wave of job losses due to AI. But he also expects employers to learn to adapt their labor forces to the changed workplace.

“The short term solution for employers would be to take away tasks from people and have them go away,” he said. “Instead, they need to think how we can use these people for things that are uniquely human.”

In recent years, AI has landed at sports venues across the country, including Fenway Park, TD Garden, Gillette Stadium, and Polar Park in Worcester. The companies selling the self-checkout systems cite increased sales, shorter wait times, and improved fan experiences.

But concession workers say the machines haven’t improved their experiences. In July, hundreds of Fenway workers represented by Unite Here Local 26 launched a three-day strike, in part over the threat to wage and job security posed by increasing automation.

Their employer, food services company Aramark, installed six AI-powered checkout machines in 2023. The machines, made by the California manufacturer Mashgin, use algorithm-based modeling to identify the type and quantity of products, calculate the bill, and take credit card payments.

An average beer stand at Fenway staffs approximately eight workers, whereas only one or two workers are needed to check IDs and troubleshoot technical issues for the Mashgin machines.

Richard Moffatt, 42, who has worked at the ballpark for 23 years, said he loses half to two-thirds of his regular tips when he works at the Mashgin stands. He said the soul of Fenway Park is being “gutted from within” by the AI-powered machines.

“I love feeling like I’m helping represent my city on the frontline,” Moffatt said. “People tell me that when they come to a game they don’t want to deal with a screen. They want to get a Sam Adams and two hot dogs from someone with a Boston accent.”

Boston accents are becoming harder to find at TD Garden, too. There, owner and operator Delaware North has gone beyond self-checkout machines.

In 2021, the Garden collaborated with Amazon to bring two cashier-less stores based on Amazon’s Just Walk Out technology, allowing fans to tap their credit cards as they enter the stores, grab whatever they want, and walk out. The stores, located on the fourth and seventh floors of the arena, sell snacks and beverages.

Amazon says the store uses weights on shelves and AI-powered visual sensors in ceiling-mounted cameras to digitally model and track every object and person in the store. The algorithm assigns shoppers identifying numbers as they complete their grab-and-go experience, produces an itemized list of what they’ve taken, and bills the customer.

TD Garden concessions workers’ shifts have been cut in half since the introduction of the Just Walk Out stories and self-service kiosks, according to a spokesperson for the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 144. Workers typically staffed five to six events a week; now they work only two or three.

The union narrowly avoided a strike at the end of 2024 when it secured a new contract with Delaware North. The workers requested additional protections against automation, but only succeeded in getting general language in the contract that requires Delaware North to negotiate with the union about economic effects of newly introduced technology.

New York-based Delaware North has reported an increase of 20 to 30 percent in customer traffic across more than a dozen Just Walk Out stores in its different venues around the world. But Rajiv Chopra, Amazon’s Just Walk Out vice president, said the technology is also “a win-win” for fans, merchants, and workers.

“Just Walk Out enables workers to spend less time repeating the checkout process,” he said, “and focus on other aspects of giving an awesome experience,” such as replenishing items on shelves, opening bottles, and checking IDs.

Some customers, like Julie Banks, 56, say they appreciated the efficiency of the Amazon stores and didn’t mind avoiding some aspects of the customer experience.

“It feels smoother and easier,” Banks said. “I still get to have some human interaction but avoid the whole ‘getting a receipt’ and the awkward tipping situation.”

At Fenway, Aramark said the Mashgin kiosks have improved efficiency, but declined to provide specific information about sales or in-line wait times.

“Our comprehensive fan surveys confirm the success of these initiatives, demonstrating improvement in wait times, concessions service, and overall game experience,” an Aramark spokesperson said in a statement.

But Red Sox fan Spencer Daniszewski said he isn’t a fan of Mashgin machines.

“I’m going to Fenway for human interaction at an immensely historic place that means so much for this city,” said Daniszewski, 22, of Ashland. “Losing the workers greatly dilutes the experience.”

Correction: Richard Moffat’s surname was misspelled in an earlier version of this story. The Globe regrets the error.

Yogev Toby can be reached at yogev.toby@globe.com.