Uber Eats launched two autonomous delivery pilots in Los Angeles on Monday that will deliver food without the need for human drivers.
According to a report from TechCrunch, the food delivery company is working with two US startups, Motional and Serve Robotics, to launch the pilot.
Motional, an autonomous vehicle company, originally announced a partnership with Uber Eats in December 2021.
Serve Robotics, a spin-off from Uber itself, makes delivery robots that can navigate sidewalks.
Limited trials will be introduced initially, with deliveries from a few selected merchants, including Kreation Organic Juicery.
Deliveries made by Serve Robotics will only be limited to short routes around the West Hollywood area of the city, while Motional will handle longer delivery routes in Santa Monica.
Humans at drop off locations
“We will be able to learn from these two pilots what customers actually want, what merchants actually want, and what makes sense for delivery,” a spokesperson told TechCrunch.
Human operators will take control near drop-off locations “to ensure a convenient and seamless experience for customers,” an Uber Eats spokesperson said.
Uber will include the cost of food while charging customers for deliveries from its two partners.
However, self-driving vehicle deliveries in California require a license which Motional reportedly does not have, so it appears customers will not be charged for deliveries from their vehicles, at this time.
Uber Eats hit $8.3 billion (€7.92 billion) in annual revenue in 2022 and surpassed $30 billion (€28.52 billion) in gross bookings. by 2020, according to Business Insider.
The company is known for using automation and innovative technology in its services, with expanding automated delivery likely the next step.
What impact will this have on workers’ rights?
The recent announcement has raised concerns among gig economy workers and labor rights activists.
“Uber Eats couriers around the world face poverty wages and appalling working conditions, in the UK without basic rights such as paid leave and pensions,” said Alex Marshall, chairman of Uber Eats. the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain, to Euronews.
“It’s no surprise to see Uber Eats investing millions of dollars in automated delivery robots, given that it doesn’t treat its workers like human beings.”
A long-awaited draft law from the European Commission was published last year, directing that the process of confirming employment status be transferred to companies, rather than burdening the individuals who work for them.
Before that, workers in the gig economy, like workers at Uber Eats, had to go to court to prove they were employees or risk being denied basic rights.
“AI and the adoption of new technologies, in general, are impacting the way work is done, as some tasks can be [fully] automated,” Camilla Lenzi, an associate professor of urban economics at Politecnico di Milano working on an EU-funded project studying how technology influences labor markets in Europe, told Euronews Next.
“Will AI kill or help the gig economy, steal or create jobs for delivery people, for example? It’s too early to tell – it’s is a new technology that has not yet revealed its full potential”.
“What we see in our research so far is that in the EU new technologies have not completely replaced jobs. Many skilled jobs may be at risk while low-skilled jobs [labour] can be extended”.
Euronews Next has contacted Uber Eats for comment.
euronews Gt