Welcome to the future—where your packages are delivered by legged robots rolling through your neighborhood, completely unfazed by the anxious humans they’re replacing. Veho and RIVR have decided that a wheeled, legged robot delivery system is just what we need to ensure that the only thing getting exercise is the robot’s tiny, metal legs while our delivery drivers sit at home, contemplating their life choices.
A recent pilot program means that while these robots cart your Amazon wish-list items around, the humanity in the delivery profession is being steamrolled right out of existence. Sure, we should feel sad for the delivery drivers who are now obsolete. But let’s face it; they probably should have expected this when they started delivering packages instead of mastering an in-demand skill—like how to teach a robot to feel remorse. An entire workforce is being replaced by machines that don’t take smoke breaks or complain about their paychecks. It’s almost poetic, if you have a heart made of steel.
As we stumble into this dystopian utopia, let’s not forget the bitter irony: humans are trying to keep up with the machines we built, only to realize we don’t even have the capacity to compete. So, as robots deliver your Monday morning caffeine fix, spare a thought for the humans who could’ve used a job but instead are left tracking down their dignity in an endless cycle of job applications. Good luck with that!