Allow me to toss a wet blanket on what I will acknowledge to be a truly unique idea for delivering goods to people’s homes.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, says he intends to fill the sky with commercial drones to drop products ordered through his company.
Members of Congress want to hold hearings on the idea to examine ways to protect people’s privacy.
I’m thinking they also should have hearings to ensure that the drones don’t clutter the sky with traffic that could put people’s lives in danger.
I watched the “60 Minutes” segment Sunday night when Bezos knocked Charlie Rose over with the idea of drones. I’ll admit to being floored by the idea. Then I thought a little about it.
Do we really need to launch these vehicles into the air to ensure prompt delivery of these goods? I’m wondering now if we’re taking technology a bit too far.
“As we move forward toward integrating drones into civilian life and capitalizing on the economic opportunities they offer, we must make certain that these aircraft meet rigorous safety and privacy standards,” said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
Do you think?
I’m all for technology. Heck, I’m learning — finally — to embrace much of what many millions of others embraced long ago. There’s just something vaguely creepy, though, about unleashing these drones to deliver mail-order gifts to people’s front porch.
Just how many of them will take flight? Our airspace seems a bit crowded as it stands right now.