Those self driving delivery vehicles will never happen. They're just using them to create a specter of automation.
The only reason delivery driving exists is because the drivers not only provide low cost labor ($5/hr usually only with extra per-order which is a static cost), but also provide the delivery machinery for free.
No food delivery service provides drivers with their own vehicles. Also, the drivers are basically entirely liable on the insurance front. Usually about $200/month for the insurance, or they fire you before you even get back to the store if you're in an accident.
In the automation system, all those expenses are pushed back onto the company.
Is there a technical reason they can't happen? We have self-driving delivery for groceries and other things in some areas of the UK now and they're pretty good, I don't see why that can't be extended to fast food delivery as well. The only barrier seems to be cost, you get a lot more money per delivery through groceries.
The technical reason is that it will always be cheaper to pay someone $5/hr to give you a vehicle and labor than it is to buy and maintain automated delivery vehicles. I would drive 100+ miles/day in my personal vehicle essentially for free.
The only way they'd be fully accepted would be if the government subsidized them or something.
Yep, cool how the government will pay to take jobs away from the people who pay taxes. Almost like they have class interests that aren't aligned with the workers and we're being duped.
Forces those drivers to go be drivers for someone else. Like Uber. For less money of course.
WITH THAT SAID I don't actually think any of the places I can get groceries from with this service actually had any delivery beforehand, so technically it only added a service, at least in my area. No jobs taken by it at least in my specific area.
That makes sense, it would be nonsense to automate a job that's essentially slave labor. It's probably some company that's getting "innovation" funding or something and is able to give out these delivery vehicles for below cost.
Either government funding or some venture capitalist or organization that knows more automated delivery vehicles on the road will serve as free propaganda. Especially with delivery drivers being super radicalized lately.
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Those self driving delivery vehicles will never happen. They're just using them to create a specter of automation.
The only reason delivery driving exists is because the drivers not only provide low cost labor ($5/hr usually only with extra per-order which is a static cost), but also provide the delivery machinery for free.
No food delivery service provides drivers with their own vehicles. Also, the drivers are basically entirely liable on the insurance front. Usually about $200/month for the insurance, or they fire you before you even get back to the store if you're in an accident.
In the automation system, all those expenses are pushed back onto the company.
Is there a technical reason they can't happen? We have self-driving delivery for groceries and other things in some areas of the UK now and they're pretty good, I don't see why that can't be extended to fast food delivery as well. The only barrier seems to be cost, you get a lot more money per delivery through groceries.
The technical reason is that it will always be cheaper to pay someone $5/hr to give you a vehicle and labor than it is to buy and maintain automated delivery vehicles. I would drive 100+ miles/day in my personal vehicle essentially for free.
The only way they'd be fully accepted would be if the government subsidized them or something.
Fair. That is exactly how they started here.
Yep, cool how the government will pay to take jobs away from the people who pay taxes. Almost like they have class interests that aren't aligned with the workers and we're being duped.
Forces those drivers to go be drivers for someone else. Like Uber. For less money of course.
WITH THAT SAID I don't actually think any of the places I can get groceries from with this service actually had any delivery beforehand, so technically it only added a service, at least in my area. No jobs taken by it at least in my specific area.
That makes sense, it would be nonsense to automate a job that's essentially slave labor. It's probably some company that's getting "innovation" funding or something and is able to give out these delivery vehicles for below cost.
Either government funding or some venture capitalist or organization that knows more automated delivery vehicles on the road will serve as free propaganda. Especially with delivery drivers being super radicalized lately.
The people who maintain self-driving delivery vehicles have very different expectations from their employer than the average restaurant worker.
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Maybe they'll just lobby for huge tax incentives or some bullshit. Like what tesla did for years.
Oh definitely, but that's a wholly financially unsustainable practice. It would never be a widespread thing, just instances of fraud (like Tesla).
I am going to start planting IEDs on suburban streets. genuinely sad that this is what it's come to, but they had their chance.
screaming