Latest Amazon Driver Lawsuit Eyes Algorithms to Assign Fault

Amazon, Drivers, crashes, lawsuits, algorithms, Harper Logistics, Scott Harrison, Ans Rana

A March crash in Marietta, Georgia between an Amazon delivery van and a Tesla paralyzed a would-be medical student and turned the spotlight on how fault should be assigned when big companies farm out work to smaller third parties.

Amazon Logistics subcontracts to outside delivery drivers and small businesses, but only under Amazon’s branding and policies, Bloomberg reported on Friday (Nov. 12). According to data compiled by Bloomberg, Amazon Logistics was a defendant in lawsuits concerning some 119 motor vehicle injury cases in 35 states.

See also: Amazon, Walmart Sharpen Fight to See Who Can Deliver Faster

The most recent case making headlines concerns 24-year-old Ans Rana, a graduate of Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia who reportedly was planning to take his MCAT later this month and apply to medical school. Rana was in the backseat of a Tesla being driven by his brother when they were rear-ended by an Amazon delivery van.

Rana, who is now cared for by his sister and needs a ventilator to breathe, filed a lawsuit in June alleging that Amazon is liable for the accident because of the algorithms, apps and devices the company uses to operate its logistics unit, according to reports.

Read more: Amazon Copied Products, Rigged Search in India

Amazon, however, maintains that it is not legally at fault because the driver that crashed worked for Harper Logistics, a company launched solely to handle Amazon deliveries, according to Bloomberg.

The attorney for Rana, Scott Harrison, is homing in on the key role algorithms play as a way to prove that Amazon controls its entire logistics operation and oversees everything, including which drivers should be hired and fired. Drivers working for Harper Logistics are also required to wear Amazon-branded uniforms.

According to the lawsuit, Amazon isn’t a client of Harper Logistics; Amazon actually manages the company from the outside, Bloomberg reported. This assertion is expected to weigh heavily on determining Amazon’s level of fault, if any.

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Over $1 billion has been invested in technology, wages, and education to boost the safety of Amazon’s delivery operation; Amazon spokeswoman Maria Boschetti told Bloomberg that more than 50 percent of the fleet has video cameras and other technologies that provide real-time safety alerts.

Amazon’s Delivery Service Partner program was launched in 2018 to connect with people looking to start their own package delivery firm. Amazon offered to help entrepreneurs launch for $10,000 down with the hopes of earning as much as $300,000 a year, per reports.

Harper Logistics, founded in 2018, is one of an estimated 2,500 Amazon delivery service partners that employ over 260,000 drivers worldwide.

 


Apple Aims to Reach More Customers With Lower-Cost iPhone 16e

iPhone 16e, Apple

Apple debuted its lower-cost smartphone, the iPhone 16e, Wednesday (Feb. 19), saying the product’s price starts at $599.

“We’re so excited for iPhone 16e to complete the lineup as a powerful, more affordable option to bring the iPhone experience to even more people,” Kaiann Drance, vice president of worldwide iPhone product marketing at Apple, said in a Wednesday press release.

The new model joins a smartphone lineup that includes the iPhone 15 starting at $699, the iPhone 16 starting at $799 and the iPhone 16 Pro starting at $999, according to the Apple website.

The iPhone 16e is “built for Apple Intelligence,” the company’s artificial intelligence (AI) offering, according to the release.

The smartphone also offers Apple’s A18 chip, the Apple C1 cellular modem, a 48MP Fusion camera system and a 6.1-inch display, the release said.

The Big Tech firm will accept pre-orders for the iPhone 16e in 59 countries and regions beginning Friday (Feb. 21) and will make the phone available beginning Feb. 28, per the release.

The new smartphone will cost $170 more than the iPhone SE that it replaces, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

It also marks the biggest change in the history of the low-end iPhones that were introduced in 2016 and have not been updated in nearly three years, according to the report.

The company reported in January that during the fourth quarter — the first quarter in which it offered the iPhone 16 and Apple Intelligence — the iPhone 16 models performed stronger in markets where the AI features were available.

Apple reported a record number of iPhone upgraders during the quarter, with the iPhone 16 family outperforming the iPhone 15 family since launch. During a January earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook attributed this trend to a strong desire among existing customers to adopt the latest technology, with Apple Intelligence being a key factor.

The company’s installed base of active devices reached a record high of 2.35 billion during the quarter.

When Apple unveiled Apple Intelligence in September, it said the suite of AI-powered features integrates deeply into the company’s ecosystem, leveraging the technology to perform tasks ranging from text refinement to image manipulation, all while prioritizing user privacy.