That distant ringing? It's the sound of the Taco Bell death knell, tolling for the restaurant chain's shambolic AI-powered drive-thrus.

We exaggerate, but only a little. The much-maligned tech experiment, which has been deployed at 500 Taco Bell locations across the United States, isn't quite dead yet. But it's received enough backlash since being unleashed on hangry motorists that even one of the company's top executives is having second thoughts.

"We're learning a lot, I'm going to be honest with you," Taco Bell chief digital and technology officer Dane Mathews conceded to the Wall Street Journal, in what sounded like an awfully weary tone.

"I think like everybody, sometimes it lets me down," he admitted, "but sometimes it really surprises me."

The response on social media suggests t

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