Amazon will launch AI-powered smart classes for delivery drivers amid automation and enhanced efficiency

Amazon is developing artificial intelligence-powered smart glasses for delivery drivers, the company said on Wednesday Blog post. The glasses will allow drivers to scan packages, follow turn-by-turn walking directions, and document proof of delivery without their phones. Using cameras, as well as AI-powered sensing capabilities, the technology will create an augmented reality display for drivers that includes information such as hazards, as well as maps that direct drivers to specific building unit numbers.

The glasses will automatically activate once the driver parks at the delivery location and can support prescription and transitional lenses within their design. The company said that eliminating the need to use a phone, as well as providing convenience instructions, aims to increase the safety and efficiency of the delivery process.

Future iterations of the glasses aim to give drivers “real-time anomaly detection” if they deliver a package at the wrong address. The device will also be able to adapt to low-light conditions and detect pets in customers’ yards.

Fast delivery has remained a hallmark of Amazon’s business competes with Growing e-commerce capabilities Walmart And other retail giants. Amazon announced in June a An investment of $4 billion To triple the size of its delivery network, particularly in rural areas, by 2026. One Amazon delivery driver made an average of 65,700 deliveries in 2024, equivalent to 100,375 packages per year, according to Data Compiled by CapitalOne Shopping. This means about 27 deliveries per hour.

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Reuters I mentioned Product development last November. Anonymous sources told the outlet that although the glasses could increase driver productivity by freeing up hand space for workers to carry more packages, the company may have trouble developing a battery capable of lasting a full shift, which could be… Up to 10 hours. Drivers may also not want to wear the devices, which could be uncomfortable or distracting, sources said.

Amazon did not respond luckAsked for comment on concerns about battery life or comfort of the glasses.

Payment automation at Amazon

In addition to AI-powered glasses for drivers, Amazon is also developing operational technologies for the company’s warehouse workers Announce Wednesday. Blue Jay, a robotic system that uses multiple arms to lift and sort packages, aims to reduce the need for employees to lift heavy objects. Project Eluna is an efficient AI model that monitors multiple dashboards and makes decisions, such as reducing sorting bottlenecks, with the goal of reducing workers’ “cognitive load.” The AI ​​agent will be piloted at a Tennessee fulfillment center during the holiday season.

The company’s automation efforts have brought concerns about the future of human employment. Some AI experts have said automation will almost certainly replace human workers, with Roman Yampolsky, a computer science professor at the University of Louisville, saying AI could replace human workers. Unemployment rates rise to 99% In the next five years — a figure even more striking than Anthropic Technology CEO Dario Amodei’s forecast Replace 50% of entry-level white collar jobs In the same period.

“Before we always said: This job will be automated, and it will be retrained to do this other job,” Yampolsky said. episode SAnd CEO Diaries podcast last month. “But if I tell you that all jobs are going to be automated, there is no plan B. You can’t retrain.”

A New York Times investigation Amazon plans to automate 75% of its operations, it published Tuesday, citing internal documents. This translates into approximately 600,000 jobs that the company will not need to hire in the future.

Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said the investigation does not accurately reflect the company’s hiring strategy, and that the company recently announced plans to fill 250,000 jobs before the end of the year.

“Leaked documents often paint an incomplete and misleading picture of our plans, and that is the case here,” Nantel said. luck In a statement. “In this case, the materials appear to reflect the view of only one team and do not represent our overall hiring strategy across our various operations business lines – now or going forward.”

Amazon executives have made efforts to allay concerns about the future of employment. Ty Brady, chief technologist at Amazon Robotics, said: luck In May, the company’s automation advancements aim to enhance human jobs, not replace them. Interview at Luck The Brainstorm AI conference was held in London after Amazon announced… Vulcan launchA robotic arm with a sense of touch.

“I would be unashamedly proud that we are aiming to eliminate all the menial, mundane, repetitive jobs that exist,” Brady said. “And if it’s repetitive, we want to automate that, because we’ll never run out of things to do for our employees. We want them to focus on higher-level tasks.”

“People are great at using common sense, reasoning, and understanding complex problems,” he continued. “Why don’t you use that?”