I see delivery robots all over Miami. Great innovation, but what about human workers? | Opinion
On any given day in Miami Beach, Wynwood or Brickell, you’ll see small robots shaped like mini shopping carts rolling down the sidewalks making food deliveries.
They’re a convenient service for food delivery apps, plus they reduce carbon emissions and lighten traffic — which remains one of the biggest complaints in Miami.
As a person who thinks markets drive progress better than government mandates, I should be elated at this sign of market-driven innovation. I’m not though. Instead, I feel as though I’m seeing Miami’s economic safety net being erased, one little robot at a time.
For years, the gig economy — food delivery being a key part of that — has provided many people with the opportunity to make money without having to work a traditional 9-to-5 job. When my friend’s husband lost his job, he turned to DoorDash to make ends meet while applying for full-time employment.
Gig work such as driving Uber or Lyft or delivering food for DoorDash or UberEats has a low barrier to entry. The minimum requirement is a license and a vehicle. It’s not perfect, but it provides an opportunity for anyone who wants flexibility or extra income.
But now with the rise of delivery robots, a portion of the gig economy may be shrinking. Research suggests that gig drivers may be vulnerable to job and wage loss with the adoption of automated vehicles.
According to the 2025 Annual Gig Mobility Report by Gridwise Analytics, Uber Eats and DoorDash are seeing a decrease in hourly earnings and tips — causing a lowering of total weekly earnings and increased income uncertainty.
One gig worker interviewed by the Miami New Times said his wages have been falling partly due to closing restaurants in Miami but also because of the increase in robot deliveries. He’s making less than he used to.
Innovation leading to automation isn’t new, and I applaud technological progress. But I’m seeing more and more of them, and that’s unsettling. Robots have the potential to replace drivers. Does that mean less money spent locally? Robots don’t rent apartments or go out on the weekends or shop at Publix.
I believe innovation and competition are good for the marketplace. But innovation can also cost jobs. And that’s something that conservatives need to remember. Free enterprise should lift people up, not replace them.
History reminds us, innovation — from the printing press to the personal computer — can offer a vast improvement in quality of life. Progress isn’t something to fear. It should be embraced. But unlike some previous automations and innovations, delivery robots aren’t creating adjacent opportunities for the workers being displaced. And that’s a problem.
During the Industrial Revolution, displaced workers learned new skills and were able to seek jobs in adjacent trades. But when a robot replaces a delivery driver, it isn’t creating a similar pathway — it’s erasing it. No doubt some work is being created by the use of robots that may offer new employment opportunities at some point, but governments and educational systems should be thinking about this now.
Kevin Greiner, an urban planner and economist in Miami, told the Miami New Times, “fully robotic delivery only works in dense, highly urbanized neighborhoods.” That makes it unlikely that drivers will be fully replaced in the near future. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t current economic impacts.
The increase of robots on sidewalks has become a bit of a hazard for pedestrians in Miami, in my view. But this isn’t about whether robots should be zipping down the sidewalks. That innovation is already firmly established. No, this is about weighing their impact on the local workforce and asking whether unfettered automation should be allowed to eliminate working-class opportunity without guardrails. Miami Beach is considering possible regulation of delivery robots, though that’s more about sidewalk space than economics.
Competition is healthy, and progress is necessary. But both should serve the greater good, strengthening the fabric of our society, not unraveling it. Robots are here to stay. How we handle that is up to us.
Mary Anna Mancuso is a member of the Miami Herald Editorial Board. Her email: mmancuso@miamiherald.com