So I saw one of these last night wandering around near London Bridge. I got talking to someone who said that research had shown that some customers didn’t like dealing with people when ordering delivery food. Apparently things can be a little awkward. Stangers and all that.

Two thoughts. This, and things like it, have almost certaintly been invented by people that do indeed have problems dealing with people. I’m sure such things work for them. But does this mean such things have to be imposed on the rest of us?

Second, what kind of world are we creating where people prefer interactions with machines to other people? A world, perhaps, were people live alone, work alone and don’t even go out to shop or eat. I’m sure that might work for a while, but I suspect that a long-term consequence might be emotional fragility and instability.

Remember not to forget to be human.