China and Japan have unleashed a fleet of delivery robots for a test program in Bejing and Shenzhen. Food delivery giant Meituan-Dianping has partnered with 10 hotels and office buildings to test a new mobile delivery robot to carry food deliveries to students and office workers at their desks or dorm rooms. Unlike other delivery bots, these variants are designed to navigate both elevators and stairs to bring the order directly to your door -- and they do so with a'smile" However, the program still relies on a human delivery person to bring the food to the office building lobby or carry it onto the university campus, but once there the robot's take over. Meituan-Dianping has targeted offices and universities in part because their layouts are easier to navigate than bustling city centers. The robots can navigate both elevators and stairs.

For instance, Meituan's robot can move through a multi-story building and deliver orders to the customer's doorstep, though a human deliveryman is still needed to bring the food to the building, Xia said, according to CNBC's translation of his remarks in Chinese. He said this will save approximately five to seven minutes per delivery -- that's about one to two Chinese yuan ($0.14-$0.28) The company's robots have already delivered thousands of orders, added Xia. The eyes of ZMP's robot, named CarriRo Deli, "can express rich expressions and communicate with people by voice," the company's manager, Hiromasa Iwano, told CNBC in an email. These innovations in robotics are meant to tackle labor shortages and reduce delivery time.

Results of last week's U.S. midterm elections were mixed, leaving a chasm in the U.S. political landscape. The Republicans not only retained control of the Senate, but also gained more seats. The Democrats, meanwhile, took back the House of Representatives. But in terms of American foreign policy, a veteran New York Times columnist who was recently in Japan says that the election results are unlikely to affect President Donald Trump so much, and that he is likely to keep challenging Japan and China -- especially on trade issues. I don't think much will change regarding trade.

Personal transportation in a world void of human drivers will presumably be much safer, right? That's great, but it also means that a lot of people are going to be without jobs. Insurance companies won't need nearly as many claims adjusters, the DMV won't need to be nearly as large as it is today, police forces could be greatly reduced and as morbid as it sounds, hospitals won't need as many doctors (in 2012, motor vehicle collisions sent nearly 7,000 Americans to the ER each day). With fewer people dying in auto accidents, there won't be nearly as many organ donations, meaning that some sick people who might have survived thanks to a transplant won't live as long. It's a seemingly endless chain reaction of cause and effect.