Gus Carlson is a U.S.-based columnist for The Globe and Mail.
Big retailers and home delivery services eager to improve efficiencies by employing robotics are learning the hard way what happens when technology meets culture and common sense. It’s not pretty.
Airborne delivery drones being tested by companies such as Walmart, Amazon and Google are being shot out of the air by homeowners claiming the machines are harassing them. A 72-year-old Orlando-area man shot a Walmart drone late last month with his handgun because he said he thought it was spying on him, a serious offence that could mean jail time.
On the ground, small autonomous delivery carts such as Kiwibots used by restaurants and food delivery services on many U.S. college campuses, have been bot-napped by pranksters.
Bravo, not because the culprits are breaking the law with such extreme acts, but because their pushback calls out yet another example of gratuitous use of technology that will complicate our lives, not simplify them.
Of course, it’s easy to blame this behaviour on a pop culture filled with stories about machines taking over the world. It’s also intellectually lazy to characterize this as yet another example of a gun-happy culture whose first reaction to anything that comes close to infringing on individual rights and freedoms is to shoot it. Drone-shooting incidents in Florida, California and North Carolina have raised legitimate legal issues about personal privacy and trespassing.
At its core, this is about technology for technology’s sake, and more proof that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
Tech sycophants swoon at the potential of these so-called advancements, ever-faithful to the belief that everything can be made better by using machines. It can’t.
If you live in a suburban neighbourhood, you’re painfully aware of the daily traffic jam of delivery trucks from Amazon Prime, FedEx, UPS, DHL, the retailers themselves and the postal service. Add to that the cars and trucks used by food-delivery companies such as DoorDash and Instacart and there’s barely enough room for residents’ cars.
Drones won’t alleviate that because they can’t carry large, heavy packages and can’t be trusted to care for fragile packages. The current tests have them delivering snack foods and small items. And even though the cost has come down, the average drone delivery is still 20 times more expensive than a ground delivery. Sadly, the most drones will do is add to the noise and the disruption.
Here’s what the future of robotic home delivery looks like: The trucks will still be stacked up on the streets, but there will also be a squadron of drones buzzing overhead like black flies in Muskoka in May. Oh, and here comes the Kiwibot with the Whopper and fries and a Chipotle burrito bowl.
That is, if the weather is good. In stormy weather, drones will be grounded and robotic carts won’t be able to make it through deep puddles or snowbound streets. But deliveries will still need to be made, so expect more cars and trucks.
Companies, of course, are citing labour shortages and rising costs as justification for using robotics instead of human power. An added bonus: A machine doesn’t need to be paid or get benefits, doesn’t eat or sleep, won’t complain about not being able to work from home, and won’t sue the company for the myriad social gripes that fuel modern work forces.
To be sure, robotic technology, particularly drones, have been very effective in certain applications. Law enforcement uses them for search, rescue and apprehension because they are quicker to deploy and more agile than manned aircraft such as helicopters. They are also cheaper to operate.
In industries such as agriculture, energy and mining, drones have enabled the exploration and monitoring of vast areas that are often hard to reach. In the marine industry, drones have been used as anti-piracy devices.
There’s no question drones have an important place in our lives. In some cases, they have become critical tools that can do more than any human. But they don’t always make sense – or need to make sense.
At some point, common sense and cultural awareness need to be injected into the development process to ensure the technology is actually making our lives better, simpler and more productive, not the opposite.
The dirty secret is that no matter how many drones and delivery-bots companies deploy, we won’t get rid of those delivery trucks that clog our streets every day. And really, when you are completely honest, do we really need robotic technology to deliver home goods, clothes and dinner to our front doors? Probably not.
Until companies realize that sometimes technology is not the right answer, delivery drones will continue to be shot out of the sky and bot-napping will continue, no matter how severe the penalties. Score one for the humans.