Don’t trust the inevitability myth touted by the tech determinists

Zenz and Powles argue in a paper on Google Wing's delivery drones that the claim of technological inevitability helped the company win official backing, and that organised citizens can challenge it. The paper, to be published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, describes how Wing sought to operate in Australia, which hosts Google's biggest drone operation by deliveries and customers. Residents of Canberra's Bonython suburb, where a trial began in July 2018, campaigned through a Facebook page, newsletters, lobbying and freedom of information requests. In August 2023, Wing announced it would cease operations in the Canberra area, and the campaign led to a parliamentary inquiry into drone delivery.