Look, Up in the Sky! It’s a Can of Soup!
news.yahoo.com
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Exactly a decade ago, Amazon revealed a program that aimed to revolutionize shopping and shipping. Drones launched from a central hub would waft through the skies delivering just about everything anyone could need. They would be fast, innovative, ubiquitous — all the Amazon hallmarks. The buzzy announcement, made by Jeff Bezos on “60 Minutes” as part of a Cyber Monday promotional package, drew global attention. “I know this looks like science fiction. It’s not,” said Bez

Only one item can be delivered at a time. It can’t weigh more than 5 pounds. It can’t be too big. It can’t be something breakable, since the drone drops it from 12 feet. The drones can’t fly when it is too hot or too windy or too rainy.

You need to be home to put out the landing target and to make sure that a porch pirate doesn’t make off with your item or that it doesn’t roll into the street (which happened once to Lord and Silverman). But your car can’t be in the driveway. Letting the drone land in the backyard would avoid some of these problems, but not if there are trees.

Amazon has also warned customers that drone delivery is unavailable during periods of high demand for drone delivery.

  • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.worldEnglish
    3·
    1 year ago

    Waste of resources. A human can do other things besides drive a van around all day. We spend all this money educating people. So they can do a job a person with a 3rd grade education can do?

    Been in automation a long time. Have personally witnessed the primary task of a worker being replaced by a bin.

    We should encourage anything that gets rid of mindless tasks and dehumanizes workers

      • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.worldEnglish
        21·
        1 year ago

        Find other work? I apologize the rest of the human race doesn’t want to subsidize your lifestyle of thinking as little as possible.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          12·
          1 year ago

          What other work? Do jobs just appear out of the ether for people with delivery experience on their resume?

          • afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.worldEnglish
            1·
            1 year ago

            Truck driver? You know the most common job in the US. Do the people who you are advocating for know you have so little respect for their intelligence that you think they literally can do nothing else except drive a van around? I would be pretty insulted if someone was saying that my limitations were my current job.

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
              11·
              1 year ago

              You need a different license to drive a big rig truck than you do a package delivery truck. They would have to be retrained. Amazon sure won’t pay for that. Who will?

              And do you think trucking wouldn’t also get automated?

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
          12·
          1 year ago

          Maybe we should implement that first and fire all the delivery people second? But as long as Amazon saves money, that’s the important thing.