Control Through the Substitution of Nonhuman for Human Technology Ritzer's discussion combines these last two elements of the McDonaldization process. Specifically, replacement of human by nonhuman technology is often oriented towards greater control. The great source of uncertainty and unpredictability in a rationalizing system are people-either the people who work within those systems or the people who are served by them. The human employee is not required to think, just follow the instructions and push a button now and then. At home, our ovens and probes tell us when our food is done, seasoning is premixed, or the meal comes complete in one convenient package.
Airplanes are already under the control of computers, pilots merely oversee the process.
What this means is that the skills and capabilities of the human actor are quickly becoming things of the past. Who we are and how we interact is becoming defined by our dependence upon and subordination to the machine. Most specifically, irrationality means that rational systems are unreasonable systems. By that I mean that they deny the basic humanity, the human reason, of the people who work within or are served by them. The food we eat is often less nourishing, loaded with stabilizers and flavor enhancers, fats, salt and sugar.