A Philadelphia woman was arrested after allegedly blocking an Uber delivery robot, and she says it’s her ‘First Amendment right’

A Philadelphia woman was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after allegedly blocking an Uber delivery robot, and she says she was exercising her First Amendment right. Carolyn Marvin says she has been protesting the robots because she believes automation is taking jobs from human workers.

Autonomous delivery robots are becoming a more common sight on city streets, with companies like Amazon and Uber using them to deliver items to customers. They have also sparked conversations about how they could affect jobs traditionally done by people.

As reported by Dexerto, officers responded to the 1200 block of Filbert Street near Reading Terminal Market after witnesses reported a disturbance. According to police, Marvin repeatedly stepped into the robot’s path while it was making a delivery and ignored multiple commands from officers to move. The confrontation was captured on video and has since drawn attention online.

Marvin says this was not her first protest against the robots

Marvin later said her actions were part of an ongoing protest against robots taking over roles usually filled by humans. “I know they’re taking the jobs of human delivery workers,” she said, adding that she has been standing in front of the robots to stop them whenever she sees them.

She said she has confronted delivery robots on multiple occasions, including a September incident along Broad Street that also gained attention on social media. Ashley Baldwin of West Philadelphia, who witnessed one of those encounters, said, “I actually thought the robot hit her.” According to Baldwin, Marvin told her she had to stop the robots because they were taking over the world.

Despite the arrest, Marvin maintains her protests are protected, describing it as “my First Amendment right to publicly demonstrate on a sidewalk.” The pushback against automation is not limited to sidewalks, as a kiosk asking for a tip showed.

Marvin says she has no intention of stopping her protests. She hopes the attention surrounding her arrest will spark a broader discussion about artificial intelligence and the impact delivery robots could have on human employment.

Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify Uber’s side of the story, as the original report did not include a response from the company.