Americans Attack Delivery Robots as AI Backlash Spreads Despite Fewer Than 1% of 100,000 Trips Seeing Abuse
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Nov 5
Americans Attack Delivery Robots as AI Backlash Spreads Despite Fewer Than 1% of 100,000 Trips Seeing Abuse
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Nov 5
Summary
Philadelphia and Los Angeles are among cities where people have kicked, tipped and filmed attacks on food-delivery robots, turning some incidents into viral online content.
Job fears and sidewalk frustrations are driving the backlash: a 78-year-old Philadelphia woman was arrested in October after blocking an Uber Eats robot to protest machines replacing human couriers.
Robot missteps have added to tensions, including a Chicago sidewalk jam involving at least a dozen Coco robots and a May crash in which a robot entered a crosswalk against the signal.
Even so, the scale of abuse appears limited: Serve Robotics said mistreatment occurred on fewer than 1% of roughly 100,000 trips, while the company had deployed 2,000 robots by end-2025.
Cities are responding with tighter oversight, including Glendale's one-year pilot and Los Angeles' regulatory review, as companies push wider robot rollouts despite thin economics and safety questions.