Why are Philadelphians attacking Uber Eats delivery robots

https://billypenn.com/2026/04/09/uber-eats-delivery-robot-abuse-ethics-philadelphia-temple/

by speckx • 3 months ago

7 5 3 months ago

I have a coworker who purposely cuts off, road rages and hostilely engages with Waymos and Cybercabs. He views it as his civic duty against machines taking over, and arrives to work all amped up having messed with a Waymo on his morning commute. He basically is like "the machines deserve it! Put THIS in your ai, mfers" after he cuts them off. Over coffee one time I was telling him maybe it's not that good for his mental health to rage against machines every morning. He responded, "therapy is not enough, I need to fight for humanity."

I wonder if these Philly robot attackers feel similarly.

guzfip• 3 months ago

They’re just gonna make it legal for the company to fly in another drone to shoot you.

uberman• 3 months ago

I'm not condoning vandalism but I can empathize with the feeling that this alien thing is in my personal space, is a motorized vehicle on the sidewalk, is just as likely to cause a fall that no one will be held accountable for, and is taking a job from someone. I can see how that would be rage inducing. Perhaps surrounding it with traffic cones would be a better plan than actually damaging it.

I lived in Philadelphia (center city) and my other reaction based on simply attempting to keep a flowerpot on doorstep is, why have people not just stolen it yet?

_wire_• 3 months ago

These devices are a form of social pollution, whereby the desires and demands of others are mechanically proxied into common spaces.

When you negotiate others on the causeway, you are involved in human one-on-one exchanges with parity; each encountering the others on the level of interpersonal status, which is about the ways humans observe respect for each other.

But there can be no respect given nor received with a robot. It's an engine that's in competition for your space, presents as both a mechanical advantage and as handicapped, is not interesting nor appropriate to meet, and generally responds so stupidly and unpredictably that it's hazardous-- which makes its insertion into the commons an offense.

Combine the need for vigilance and avoidance with the realization that the robot annoyance is a proxy for someone else's privilege and as robots are instruments of private property extending deeply into common spaces and it's not a surprise to find people who are encroached upon by robots manifesting their displeasure through sabotage.

brodouevencode• 3 months ago

Philidelphians burn down their own city whenever their NFL team wins or loses a Superbowl, so this shouldn't be surprising.

Why are Philadelphians attacking Uber Eats delivery robots

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