Waymo self-driving cars are delivering Uber Eats orders for first time (www.cnbc.com)
from MichaelTen@lemmy.world to technology@lemmy.ml on 04 Apr 2024 02:46
https://lemmy.world/post/13880282

#technology

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BlameThePeacock@lemmy.ca on 04 Apr 2024 03:52 next collapse

This is exactly what I expected to happen, it’s taking a bit longer than I thought, but that’s not surprising.

NoneYa@lemm.ee on 04 Apr 2024 03:55 next collapse

But we’ll still pay just as much as if a human delivered it. Not much point to these when companies keep pulling that crap.

BlameThePeacock@lemmy.ca on 04 Apr 2024 04:19 next collapse

For the first bit, sure, but it won’t stay that way for long. The price of these vehicles is dropping, and the price of humans is going up.

maynarkh@feddit.nl on 04 Apr 2024 07:29 next collapse

Point is that companies won’t pass the savings off to you ever. I’d be surprised if they stopped begging for tips after firing the people.

BlameThePeacock@lemmy.ca on 04 Apr 2024 21:23 collapse

This is such a common misconception, if companies never passed savings on to us, we’d be paying absolutely astronomical prices and you couldn’t afford to buy anything at all.

Shirts used to be hundreds/thousands of dollars or days/weeks of your own time, a lot of people had to weave their own fabric and make their own clothes because they never earned enough money to afford to buy one pre-made since all their work went into feeding themselves. Average people didn’t own more than a handful of sets of clothes up until the industrial revolution. Almost all of the benefits of automation in fabric production has all been passed down to you.

You can now pick up a t-shirt from Walmart for $5, or a dress shirt for $50 both of which are far higher quality than what used to exist.

Profit margins for most consumer goods industries are not that high usually around 50% from creation to consumer (split between the manufacturer, wholesaler, and retailer) and some industries are much lower even than that.

neo@lemmy.comfysnug.space on 04 Apr 2024 22:07 next collapse

Clearly, companies only pass the savings along when a competitive market forces them to.

BlameThePeacock@lemmy.ca on 04 Apr 2024 23:14 collapse

There are at least 3 different app based food delivery companies (uber eats, skip the dishes, door dash) in the city near me, on top of the fact that a lot of places have their own dedicated delivery people (Grocery stores, pizza, even liquor stores)

There’s clearly a competitive market in this space.

Anticorp@lemmy.world on 05 Apr 2024 06:54 collapse

Shirts used to last decades too. I have a shirt in my closet that is 33 years old that’s in better condition than shirts less than a year old. A $5 Walmart shirt lasts a few months. You’re not getting the same quality.

Edit: I just read the last paragraph of your comment and you’re very mistaken about a lot of goods. They get 100+% mark-up at every step of the supply chain. Clothes at a place like Nordstrom have thousands of percent mark-up.

BlameThePeacock@lemmy.ca on 05 Apr 2024 15:07 collapse

Shirts were automated 33 years ago too. I was comparing them to pre industrial revolution clothing which was heavy and itchy.

As for Nordstrom, those are luxury goods not consumer goods. You’re paying for brand names or fancy fabrics, neither of which are necessary to your life.

lemmeout@lemm.ee on 04 Apr 2024 14:36 collapse

You’re thinking with capitalism of the yesteryear.

Anticorp@lemmy.world on 05 Apr 2024 06:52 collapse

The point is that one person, or a few people, can hoard all the money that would have gone to hundreds of workers.

Edit: and I’ll bet you $100 right now that they’ll still have a tip option.

spaphy@lemmy.ml on 04 Apr 2024 04:27 next collapse

Even if you don’t agree with any of it, thanks for posting the news. That’s interesting.

neo@lemmy.comfysnug.space on 04 Apr 2024 04:54 next collapse

Because nobody else will drive 15 miles for a $2 dollar order.

wagoner@infosec.pub on 04 Apr 2024 13:31 collapse

Definitely makes sense to invest billions in solving this program that people won’t pay more than a pittance for the service.

BlameThePeacock@lemmy.ca on 04 Apr 2024 21:33 collapse

Self-driving vehicles are not only here to solve food delivery.

In the US, the average American spends about 365 hours a year driving, about an hour a day.

I’d much rather use that time to work, read a book, or a dozen other activities. It’s over 6% of my waking hours.

downpunxx@fedia.io on 04 Apr 2024 04:59 next collapse

gettin that burger and fries to my door is gonna be a neat fucking trick, but i am here for it

GlitterInfection@lemmy.world on 04 Apr 2024 05:17 next collapse

How the car is going to buzz into my building, take the elevator, and deliver to my front door is beyond me. Technology is amazing!

nul@programming.dev on 04 Apr 2024 08:41 collapse

You’ll have to tip it first, seeing as it’s wider than it is tall.

GlitterInfection@lemmy.world on 04 Apr 2024 21:17 collapse

But they said I wouldn’t have to tip if they got rid of the humans!

BruceTwarzen@kbin.social on 04 Apr 2024 06:36 next collapse

People thought wall-e was a funny animated movie. Turns out people actually are disgustingly lazy.

Raiderkev@lemmy.world on 04 Apr 2024 08:50 next collapse

Automated AI powered yeet cannon? The future is now.

delirious_owl@discuss.online on 04 Apr 2024 13:46 next collapse

Berkeley has had self driving robots deliver food for years. They roll in the sidewalk. When it arrives to your front door, you get a text and go down to the front door. Press a button on the app and it opens the locker door so you can retrieve your order

Anticorp@lemmy.world on 05 Apr 2024 06:50 collapse

I’ve already had several Uber drivers text me and ask me to meet them at the car, so this wouldn’t be much different.

sin_free_for_00_days@sopuli.xyz on 04 Apr 2024 05:12 next collapse

I’d probably order more if it came with no driver to tip. I’m not sure if that a plus or a minus for me.

newthrowaway20@lemmy.world on 04 Apr 2024 11:18 collapse

Just you wait. They’ll offset the tip with a “Driverless vehicle delivery” fee.

800XL@lemmy.world on 04 Apr 2024 13:36 collapse

If cable, cell, ISPs and companies of that ilk are any hint, we’ll have to pay the upcharge on the items themselves, all of the food delivery company’s fees and surcharges, and then get double-dipped from the driverless car company for those same fees. They’ll also tack on a fee to rent the car while it drives to our homes, another fee for each second it sits waiting for us to go grab the food, a fee for each second of cloud computing time as it updates to the network, a fee for the electricity it uses, and as part of the Eula, we must top off the car’s batteries from our own charging stations thereby incurring that cost as well.

nivenkos@lemmy.ml on 04 Apr 2024 07:30 next collapse

This is incredible, it feels like parts of the USA are so advanced.

Here in Sweden we’re going backwards, they even took out self-scanning at a lot of supermarkets due to theft.

BlameThePeacock@lemmy.ca on 04 Apr 2024 21:26 next collapse

Parts of the USA never had self-scanning due to theft concerns.

Now there are stores that are pulling out of specific neighborhoods due to theft even with a cashier in place.

businessinsider.com/walmart-ceo-stores-will-close….

Anticorp@lemmy.world on 05 Apr 2024 06:57 next collapse

they even took out self-scanning at a lot of supermarkets due to theft.

That’s awesome! I guess I’m going to start stealing all the time now. I fucking hate self checkout, especially at places where you buy a lot of items.

Jimmycakes@lemmy.world on 06 Apr 2024 00:49 collapse

In America they just close the whole store instead of adding employees back in

delirious_owl@discuss.online on 04 Apr 2024 13:49 next collapse

Is waymo a food delivery service or a car or a what?

B0rax@feddit.de on 04 Apr 2024 14:50 next collapse

Waymo is a company that develops self driving cars (well, not the cars, but the technology). They are focusing on robo-taxis. So like Uber without a driver.

Jimmycakes@lemmy.world on 06 Apr 2024 00:43 collapse

Waymo is a Google company they will eventually make their own cars once they master self driving.

treadful@lemmy.zip on 04 Apr 2024 20:18 next collapse

May as well just get pneumatic tubes at this point.

Anticorp@lemmy.world on 05 Apr 2024 06:50 collapse

Fuck yeah! Those things are awesome. When I was younger my bank had a drive up window, and another lane with an intercom and a pneumatic tube. I’d use the tube lane even when the window lane was open because I loved watching the capsule go shooting through the tube.

dog_@lemmy.world on 04 Apr 2024 22:35 next collapse

Can we just burn them again?

TonyTonyChopper@mander.xyz on 05 Apr 2024 22:17 next collapse

They’re using entire cars… for food… not a smaller vehicle? Does anyone else see the problem here?

phoenixz@lemmy.ca on 06 Apr 2024 03:10 collapse

Use 1500 kilos to transport 500 - 1500 grams. Move along now, nothing to see here!

Jimmycakes@lemmy.world on 06 Apr 2024 00:36 collapse

Going a few extra feet out to get the food is a trade off I’ll make to get the food there fast and safe and presumably cheaper.