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Obligatory HitchBOT Joke as Uber Eats Tests Out Automated Food Delivery in Philadelphia
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Uber Eats is testing out robotic food delivery in Philadelphia:
Let’s get the obligatory hitchBOT joke out of the way first – “oh man, this is crazy! I wonder if Philly will beat the shit out of this thing, steal the food, and then leave it on the side of the road!“
I guess we’ll find out, but technology is cool. Robot delivery, drones, AI, all of that. Maybe the automatons end up stealing our jobs and we all become ditch diggers or learn how to code, but tech is not inherently bad. It’s how the tech is used, and in this case the robot food bringers are taking cars off the road. If you put up the proper guardrails and take the necessary measures we will continue to make societal improvements in a responsible way. Maybe artificial intelligence can write all of the snarky blog posts at Crossing Broad and we’ll buy some Cheetos and Mountain Dew and set up an outrageous Diablo 2 binge. Who says no? They just dropped new content in 2026!
That being said, the honest truth is that Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub are a huge waste of money, whether a robot or a human is on the other end. Paying $30 for a cheesesteak just so your lazy ass doesn’t have to get off the couch? It’s outrageous because walkability is one of the core principals of urbanism and Philly is one of the best food cities on the east coast – NAY, in the entire country. Paying out the wazoo for food delivery feels counterintuitive to the Philadelphia experience, since you can exit your front door, pick any direction, walk a couple of blocks, and find some great cuisine. You get hot food, fresh air, and exercise, as opposed to overpriced cold food and no air and no exercise.
But whatever, it’s a free country. Whatever people wanna do.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com