My (unpopular?) solution is to make sure the rest of society isn't so desperate for food that they're willing to rob a robot.
In an unrelated suggestion, if youre in a grocery store and see someone stealing food, no you didn't.
As someone who works in a grocery store, most of the people I see stealing are stealing stuff like makeup or drinks and junk food, not necessities. And our regular thieves spend hundreds on cigarettes a week, while still stealing whatever they want because they know they’ll get away with it.
Fix poverty and you fix a huge amount of other things.
Ok sure, but have we considered arming the robots with assault rifles instead?
The article mentioned tear gas canisters be equipped instead. I can't wait for a delivery robot to be near my property, someone tries to mess with it and gets gassed, then I get to enjoy tear gas as well from my front porch.
Or some kid walks past it, bumps it slightly and gets gassed in the face.
Everyday we are one step closer to the plot of Demolition Man. I cannot wait to taste some boosted Taco Bell.
What a pathetic bunch of people trying to maintain the slave status quo in these comments. WHY are you fighting to maintain a world where people have to work low tier bull shit jobs to survive? The answer, you morons, is to let the robots be and improve society to the point technology said it would. We re the most productive we've ever been in our entire history yet work more than any other time in history. We need work reform, not a robot genocide.
In an ideal world these robots would shift to there not being a need for "unskilled labor" and we would all have more leisure time. In the late stage capitalistic hellhole we are forced to live in, huge organization replace minimum wage jobs with robots and hoard profits and push people further unto poverty, while still overworking and underpaying the few people they do still employ.
If we had a ubi, then robots and self checkouts taking minimum wage jobs wouldn't be an issue because the person who's job was taken isn't just displaced and faces homelessness or death.
So I sympathize with the people who are complaining about the robots. As much as I want a scifi future with a bunch of automation, I want exploitation of the lower class to end first.
"The robots are constantly monitored and equipped with 12 cameras and two-way audio communication systems. Any improper conduct will be detected immediately. If an incident does occur with a Starship robot, one of our robot rescuers can respond quickly," robot builder Starship Technologies says regarding robot safety, adding that acts of vandalism or theft are reported to authorities.
While that may be true in theory, instances of actual prosecution for theft from robots in cities where they operate have not been easy to discover. As with far more widespread instances of front porch package thieves or shoplifters, despite the volume of video evidence the robots can produce the police have to actually take some investigative steps to identify and locate the suspects
I'm glad they've thought this through.
the police have to actually take some investigative steps to identify and locate the suspects
cops give zero fucks when crimes effect everyday citizens.
some robots have been robbed of the goods they're delivering, including food.
That was easy to predict, wasn't it?
For me, this falls neatly into the "who fucking cares?" category. These things are deployed in very few cities overall and if the technology is ready for wide-release, you better have a more effective defense against theft than you already do if they are already being stolen from
modern crimes in modern times
I'm far from a Luddite and I think robots in general are cool. But I kind of don't have an issue with people fucking up autonomous roaming robots. I haven't rationalized that opinion just yet, I guess. Just feels right.
Philly did nothing wrong
I don't think waving away being a Luddite just by saying so makes it so.
I can't think of a single angle of principled moral theory that makes this okay. Vandalizing or stealing someone else's property they paid for. Hurting both the restaurant and the customer by depriving them of their food. Holding back progress on an invention that can reduce the need for humans to engage in a type of work that is hard, dangerous at times, and low paid.
From a purely rational on paper view, it doesn't look terribly different than saying vandalizing or stealing from delivery vehicles driven by people isn't wrong. What possible justification could there be for this view besides Ludditism fuck robots?
Under captialism we lament robots taking our jobs, where under a better system we would be rejoicing.
Pepperidge Farm remembers
https://www.cnn.com/2015/08/03/us/hitchbot-robot-beheaded-philadelphia-feat/index.html
You okay with people fucking up vending machines and ATMs too? Why or why not?
1 spray can of black paint vs 1000 robot cameras, who wins?
When wasn’t it going to be a thing?
At least we've moved on from killing them in the street.
Poor hitch-hiking bot.
I'd figured the article would have some tips but I was disappointed.
Choose your spot well, preferably near an alley without any cameras directly viewing it. Wear a no -branded hoodie, sunglasses, and a mask, then obstruct its forward path, and start spray painting the cameras. Wear gloves to avoid leaving fingerprints. If all else fails, a stun gun might be very helpful in disabling stubborn electronics.
These things have been around for a few years on the college campus in my hometown, it's not that new and they do work fairly well. Might be that it was a testing ground though
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
