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Amazon's drone delivery program is the joke it always sounded like. (news.yahoo.com)

submitted 1 year ago by FlyingSquid to c/technology

235 comments fedilink hide all child comments

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.

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[–] QuaternionsRock 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think that UBI is an obvious place to start, and I think it should give them the freedom to pursue something they actually want to do. Automation is coming for all of our jobs, but you seem to be fixated on irrationally protecting those jobs instead of taking steps to ensure that automation actually benefits all of us.

In your ideal world, are there really still delivery drivers?

[–] FlyingSquid 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Shouldn't we maybe implement the UBI first, then fire all the delivery drivers? Because otherwise, I'm seeing a huge increase in the homelessness crisis.

[–] QuaternionsRock 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Yes, we should. I just think that only happens when enough of us won’t shut up about UBI, not when we won’t shut up about how we shouldn’t use drones for delivery drivers even if they’re superior. The latter will always be a losing argument when it comes to the general populace because the word they care most about in that sentence is “superior”.

[–] FlyingSquid 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I would think avoiding mass unemployment before UBI is implemented because Amazon wants to save money is "optimal."

[–] QuaternionsRock 1 points 1 year ago

You and I think it is, but most people aren’t delivery drivers, and most of those people frankly don’t have the time to even think about it.

The fact of the matter is that industry protectionism will always look silly to the average person while simultaneously being offered a better solution. On the other hand, being loud about our belief that former members of the industry shouldn’t be absolutely fucked over by automation may actually convince some people to support UBI.