Whenever I walk down Washington Street in Hoboken, NJ, I see them: the food delivery guys. There are dozens of them, zipping around on bikes or waiting for orders. What happens when there’s no more work for any of them?
In Los Angeles, dozens of robots from Serve Robotics are delivering food today. They operate autonomously, trundling along sidewalks at about 5 miles per hour.
As of last fall, there were only about 4 dozen of the bots in operation. But Serve plans to unleash thousands of them in the near future.
In many urban areas like mine, food delivery is done by new immigrants. For people who don’t speak English and have few job skills, it’s one of the only ways available to earn money.
Food delivery guys don’t make much, but they can never compete with robots at scale. Serve plans to get the cost of a delivery down to $1, a price no human can compete with.
Robots don’t complain, get sick, or try to unionize. If Serve can make enough of them, they will put human deliverers out of business.
That leaves the food delivery guys in a difficult spot. New to the country, unable to speak the language, lacking in job skills, and put out of the one job they can do.
What’s next for them? Some will gain skills and get better jobs. Others may turn to crime to survive.
For the rest of us, robot food delivery will be a boon.
Delivery guys on e-bikes careening along sidewalks is a major hazard of urban life right now. A delivery guy recently struck my friend’s mother, putting her in the hospital.
Small robots packed with sensors moving cautiously will be a huge improvement in safety.
And of course, $1 deliveries will cut costs for consumers. What’s more, with deliveries that cheap, companies could deliver more items affordably.
Need a tube of toothpaste within minutes? No problem.
Robotics and AI working together will automate many low skilled jobs, and soon. Bringing folks into America who aren’t qualified to do anything else is a mistake.
Instead, we should focus on bringing in higher skilled workers who can contribute to technological progress. Think robotics engineers, not the folks whom robots will replace.
For immigrants lacking in job skills, the future looks bleak. But we’re not doing them any favors by bringing them into this country with nothing to offer them.
Do you think robots will take over food delivery?
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. Great to be back!
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