> merely matching the cost and harms of the existing system is far from enough

The new system needs to be better but that doesn’t necessarily mean safer.

For delivery, that could mean cheaper and faster and more convenient.

Autonomous vehicles are a special case because those accidents tend to cause death and serious injury. As long as delivery drones can avoid killing multiple people per year, they are probably fine to compete on other metrics.

If Amazon handled it the right way, their drone smashing through your window could be a mere inconvenience.

In comparison to the way their delivery drivers drive down my sidewalk, I can see the drone being a safety win.