Philadelphia Woman Arrested for Blocking Uber Delivery Robot

Carolyn Marvin was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after standing in front of an Uber delivery robot on a Philadelphia street and refusing police orders to move. Marvin told local ABC13 she had been making a habit of it: "I know they're taking the jobs of human delivery workers and so, I have been protesting them whenever I saw them by standing in front of them and preventing them from going forward."

The incident, captured on video, is part of a broader backlash against delivery robots that have become routine in downtown Philadelphia. Marvin's arrest wasn't her first encounter with one of the machines, and she wasn't alone in her frustration — earlier this year, a separate robot was kicked over in Center City. Growing concern about autonomous systems displacing lower-wage workers has made these sidewalk bots an increasingly charged presence.