Reported by The Guardian
Semi-retired professor Carolyn Marvin became a local celebrity facing down Philadelphia’s growing robot delivery army: ‘It’s my first amendment right to protest’
“One of you needs to be on the lookout for cops, while I block the robot, OK?”
It is a crisp fall morning in Philadelphia . Tucked away in a dingy alley, opposite a garage called Patriot Parking, 78-year-old Carolyn Marvin is laying out some ground rules for a robot-disrupting expedition. Once a suitable target is identified, we will follow it to a busy sidewalk and Marvin will stand in front of the robot, blocking its way. The photographer and I will take turns ensuring we’re not all carted off by the police.
More from the original report
If Marvin sounds like she’s done this before, it’s because she has. Many, many times. The semi-retired University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) communications professor has become something of a local celebrity after taking it upon herself to block the UberEats food delivery robots which have become a ubiquitous presence in the city’s downtown. She doesn’t do this every day – “I have a life” – but whenever a robot crosses her path she’ll stare it down as a protest against their incursion into public spaces.
Her antics have gone viral: so much so that some Philadelphians dressed up as Marvin and the robot for Halloween. But while she may have supporters, her protesting isn’t universally admired: a few weeks ago it got her in trouble with the law .
“I was coming back from my flu shot and I saw a robot,” she recounts. “Since I had some time, I stayed in front of it as it was a very highly trafficked area.” A crowd amassed and a spirited debate occurred. Some people agreed with Marvin’s argument that, along with taking people’s jobs, the delivery robots pose a hazard to people with mobility issues. Others were concerned that she was stopping someone from getting the food they’d ordered and paid for. Eventually the cops were called about “criminal mischief” involving a delivery robot and three officers showed up.
“They asked me to move and I said…