Millions of people soon without a job? The dark side of autonomous driving

When cars, trucks and the like are first on the road without human drivers, an enormous upheaval is imminent. A change that could cost many millions of workers their jobs. An example from the logistics company FedEx shows what this can look like.

FedEx and Nuro are testing autonomous delivery vehicles

Autonomous driving is not only interesting for Tesla, other manufacturers are also working on the technology, for example VW. But once it is fully developed, it does not only offer tremendous opportunities for private cars. From an economic point of view, it also holds enormous potential in the movement of goods. But that goes hand in hand with a not inconsiderable risk that the current drivers primarily bear: the Loss of their jobs.

Autonomous driving that no longer depends on people is not yet possible on a large scale. But it will long ago tested for freight transport. FedEx is currently doing test drives together with the vehicle manufacturer Nuro in the USA. A relatively small delivery vehicle is used for this. Once loaded, it should travel its route independently. The Nuro R2 orients itself using lidar and radar sensors as well as cameras. The approximately 2.7 m long and only 1.1 m high vehicle is equipped with several compartments for parcels.

The idea has a potential disadvantage: The R2 (a rascal who thinks badly) stops on the street in front of the delivery address. Customers then have to pick up their parcel themselves; the relevant compartment can be opened using the code sent. In large cities with high-rise buildings, this system should be right quickly reach their limits.

With Amazon, the world’s largest logistics company is already moving towards the delivery robot. You can find out what that looks like in the Video:

Millions of jobs in the logistics industry threatened

But what does such a technology mean for the drivers of FedEx and other logistics companies? Taken to extremes the classic delivery driver becomes obsolete. Are alone in Germany according to Statista currently around 22 million driver’s licenses for trucks are issued. Even if not all of them are used professionally when autonomous driving reaches mass maturity, millions of jobs are on the brink.

However, it will be some time before that happens. Tesla, for example, recently had to cash in on some premature promises about the capabilities of its cars. FedEx and Nuro have received an exemption for their testing in Houston, Texas. On the way to self-driving trucks, there will also be many drivers who will continue to do so who have to monitor semi-autonomous vehicles. Concerns about the professional driver’s job cannot be dismissed until the truck takes over, but it will take years.