A Hovering Threat: Amazon's drone delivery foreshadows machines overtaking jobs

Delivering packages via drone seems like a logical progression as society moves further into a future of technology.

But that future has entry-level workers regressing, not progressing.

Amazon and various other private delivery services have been continually advancing drone delivery technology. 

As of Feb. 11, Amazon has begun using unmanned drone delivery for packages weighing five pounds or less within a 7.5-mile radius of its fulfillment center in Kansas City, Kansas, according to KMBC. 

But, if this technology continues to advance, it will set a dangerous precedent for companies replacing entry-level jobs with machines, causing the job market to be near impossible to navigate without a college degree.

This isn’t like light bulbs replacing lamplighters — the scale is much bigger. 

Before the drones arrived in KC, Amazon had already announced it will lay off another 16,000 workers this month, after laying off 14,000 in January, according to CNN. These changes are directly caused by Amazon incentivizing AI use for productivity, so non-delivery workers are already threatened by advancing technology. 

So, as Amazon moves to automate delivery, all workers have everything to worry about. 

Amazon will continue to push the weight limit and delivery radius as technology advances as it's more profitable and efficient. That’s why they’re expanding to KC and beyond: it works. Other companies will see their profit and follow in their footsteps. This is basic business and economics. 

Any jobs created by drones require technical knowledge of software and engineering to operate and build them. A high school student searching for a way to work through college won't have a bachelor's degree in computer science to fill these positions. 

Any U.S. citizen with a driver’s license over the age of 18, or 16 with a high school diploma, can work for the U.S. Postal Service. Those are the requirements for a $46,000 minimum salary, with upwards of $66,000 as a starting salary, according to USPS. No degree needed.

Jobs like these are luxuries that continue to fade as drones and other technologies advance.

Additionally, less jobs are needed after replacing the mail carriers. Companies will only need those to command, repair and package the drones — duties that could fit into one job. 

Georgetown University estimates that by 2031, 72% of jobs will require postsecondary education. That number is 42% right now, so that means many more layoffs are projected to come. 

If 58% of all jobs in the U.S. don’t require a degree now, five years isn’t enough to protect the 50 million workers projected to need a degree they don’t have. 

This is how economies collapse: millions of workers without a job. 

Amazon claims to give severance packages with up to 20 weeks pay, which is great on paper. However, when 15,999 other former employees have the same time frame to get a job, those gaps close fast. And, regardless, other companies won't be able to afford the same offloading guarantees as a $2 trillion company like Amazon. 

Any company replacing employees with machines needs to either provide training for the new positions created, or significantly slow down their cuts so thousands aren’t unemployed within a matter of weeks. 

This guarantee isn’t a 20 week severance package and it doesn’t slow down technological innovation, it just keeps workers working — an essential for economic stability.

Even if you aren’t worried about the possible 2 million jobs lost in mail service, you should be worried about those in food service, sanitation and manufacturing, who could all be replaced by automated servers, garbage collectors and assembly lines. 

“I’ll just use the drone delivery so my package comes faster” is a catalyst for “I can’t find a job without a $100,000 degree.” 

Yes, there are other ways to achieve a cheaper degree through community college or online school. But those prices are still rising, and you can’t pay for college if there aren’t any jobs to work without a degree. 

A third of Americans age 16 to 19 work in food service, according to the National Restaurant Association. Those are SM East students. Obviously, food service as a whole isn’t in jeopardy like mail service. But with McDonald’s using automated voices to take orders, the next step is making and packaging the food, something robots are already capable of at certain small restaurants.

So, when people hear about drones being used as alternatives for people, and no one can stop the companies using them, they should be worried if a robot can feasibly do their job.  

It’s easy to talk about hypotheticals for the future. But for now, it’s important not to select that drone delivery option and encourage businesses to provide non-degree-required jobs as an alternative for all the jobs they’re either getting rid of or going to get rid of. 

I hope I’m wrong, or we’re f*****.