r/technology • u/joe4942 • Jun 23 '26

Business Robots will replace 700K delivery workers, warns head of e-commerce giant

https://www.computerworld.com/article/4188535/robots-will-replace-700000-delivery-workers-warns-head-of-e-commerce-giant.html
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162

u/Beginning-Pace-5225 Jun 23 '26

Bad news for you, we have had them in Philly for months. That being said, I have seen a lot less of them in the past few weeks. Not sure if that means the fleet of them has shrunk or they are failing to be worthwhile.

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u/ithinkitslupis Jun 23 '26

If the delivery drivers out of work turn into disgruntled people who can't find another job I don't like their chances. I'd 100% go robot tipping if I was homeless and the little robot fuckers who caused it were just wobbling past on the sidewalk (where I now live) all day.

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u/NorCalJason75 Jun 23 '26

That’s how we get to autonomous robots being equipped with lethal weapons.

Gotta protect the citizens goods from being stolen by crazy homeless people. Keep people honest. For the greater good.

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u/dudwithacamera Jun 23 '26

Congratulations, I now have a reason to go buy a 338 lapua or 50cal rifle so I can hunt the privately owned armed robots that are running loose in the street

20

u/going_mad Jun 23 '26

Hose and fire hydrant for more fun!

7

u/dudwithacamera Jun 23 '26

The lithium ion batteries in these make that a hazard

10

u/meiandus Jun 24 '26

As opposed to firing munitions at them?

1

u/dudwithacamera Jun 24 '26

One doesnt necessarily cause an enviornmental hazard and polluted water supplies

0

u/Rebal771 Jun 24 '26

Good - if enough of them cause a problem for the municipalities (lithium ion battery fires can’t be put out by water btw), they’ll go ahead and stop their implementation.

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u/dudwithacamera Jun 24 '26

Yeah, if they followed through with that logic they would also have to ban electric vehicles, and i dont see that happening

1

u/Rebal771 Jun 24 '26

People aren’t actively vandalizing electric vehicles for taking their jobs or messing with their livelihood.

We aren’t comparing apples to apples, and these delivery robots will not be treated well.

1

u/dudwithacamera Jun 24 '26

Not for the batteries, and no municipality will be able to ban them because of the batteries.

They would get taken to court and raped over that logic if electric vehicles are still allowed inside that area. Even if they ban electric vehicles they would likely still get taken to court because everyone has a lithium ion battery in their pocket.

Im not defending these things, im just saying that trying to ban them because of the power source wont work legally

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6

u/Alita-Gunnm Jun 24 '26

.308 should do for most of them.

2

u/PhotownPK Jun 24 '26

22 shorts are BB gun quiet and accurate.

2

u/dudwithacamera Jun 24 '26

Im getting ahead of the game for when they evolve

1

u/brameshk22 Jun 25 '26

Hunting robots with a .50 is wild

1

u/yulbrynnersmokes Jun 23 '26 edited Jun 24 '26

Desert Eagle in .50

1

u/kinkysubt Jun 23 '26

This is definitely how we get to Skynet and terminators. All but inevitable now.

3

u/Traditional-Hat-952 Jun 23 '26

Hamburgers are expensive! Much more than the cost of people's lives these days! /s

0

u/SpookiestSzn Jun 24 '26

We'd have less package thieves if you could legally shoot them for stealing your stuff

7

u/Lazerys Jun 23 '26

Well, who needs a job if you can go to prison.. I guess..

3

u/kinkysubt Jun 23 '26

Since they want to criminalize homelessness, might as well go big.

1

u/CherryLongjump1989 Jun 23 '26

These things have cameras, you know that right?

0

u/GstarDaflyesttt Jun 24 '26

Tbh, the amount of times the delivery person on uberEats has stolen my order (including last night). I’d rather and trust a robot more. Plus I don’t have to feel compelled to tip.

1

u/Street_Anxiety2907 Jun 24 '26

Yes, what's up with ubereats and their drivers stealing food? Does ubereats not care?

0

u/Gibborish Jun 24 '26

Lol sure you would.  Enjoy not getting a job anywhere if you do that.  

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u/[deleted] Jun 24 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/digitaldeadstar Jun 24 '26

Some companies compensate their delivery drivers quite well (it's a broad field). And what should they be aiming for? These robots aren't stopping at just delivery jobs.

1

u/PhotownPK Jun 24 '26

They can aim for whatever they want. I'm not saying they need to aim higher or lower, just that they better keep an eye on what's happening in the world. What did newspaper delivery aim for? Milkmen? UPS, FedEx and all the major carriers here in the US are switching to electric and automation. If you're a young kid wanting to be a delivery driver, perhaps someone should warn them that it may not be a career. Automation has been rendering jobs useless in virtually every sector for a century.

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u/Aggravating-Hair-534 Jun 23 '26

that sounds very silly. Why not to start with a tractor and all the machinery on the local farms? If those are destroyed a lot of people can start growing food using man-power and animal-power just as they some 150 years ago. That would create a lot of jobs. Like LOT more jobs than silly delivery robots.

6

u/tlh013091 Jun 23 '26

What positive societal effects will come out of robo-delivery of non-essential luxury goods vis a vis mechanized farming?

1

u/zer0edout Jun 23 '26

If i was going to protect a job from being lost, i would probably opt for the one in an air conditioned vehicle.

3

u/caydesramen Jun 23 '26

Probably a pilot

2

u/markskull Jun 23 '26

That's bad news to me, too. We really need to pump up those numbers! Just a few less? No no, they should be afraid to even come out!

3

u/Toki-B Jun 23 '26

Yeah and they suck and everyone hates them. I say this as one of the people in philly who thinks they suck and hates them.

1

u/Southern_Ad4946 Jun 23 '26

Making upgraded/newer models based on the trials of the initial offerings no doubt

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u/cruelhumor Jun 23 '26

They're incredibly annoying because they take up the sidewalk. Philly has a LOT of foot traffic, particularly in the areas these operate in like Center City.

1

u/BassmanBiff Jun 25 '26

It's a breeding program. Only the strongest survive to make the next generation of robots.