78-year-old former college professor arrested for blocking delivery robot in protest

A 78-year-old Philadelphia woman who repeatedly blocks self-driving delivery robots as a form of protest was arrested after allegedly refusing to let an Uber Eats machine pass.Carolyn Marvin, a retired University of Pennsylvania communications professor, encountered the robot near the 1200 block of Filbert Street in Center City earlier this month while returning home from a flu shot appointment.Marvin, who told CNN she has spent months deliberately obstructing the machines, stood in its path until a crowd gathered and police were called.Officers responded to the scene after receiving a report of criminal mischief involving a robot, a Philadelphia Police Department spokesperson told The Independent.Marvin allegedly refused repeated orders to move, prompting them to issue her a disorderly conduct citation. “I was under the impression that I had more rights than the robot did,” Marvin told CNN with a laugh.A retired University of Pennsylvania communications professor who says she regularly blocks delivery robots in protest was and charged with disorderly conduct after refusing to let an Uber Eats machine pass in Philadelphia (file photo) (AFP/Getty)However, following her arrest, Marvin learned about an unusual legal wrinkle:Pennsylvania law actually classifies delivery robots as pedestrians.Under Pennsylvania's Act 106 of 2020, autonomous delivery machines — officially known as personal delivery devices — are granted many of the same rights and responsibilities as pedestrians under the state's Vehicle Code. That means motorists must yield to them at crosswalks, but the robots must also yield to actual pedestrians and cyclists.Marvin insists her protests are relatively harmless, saying she only blocks a robot when it is “convenient and possible” and has time to do so.“I have a life, so I don’t have tons of time to stand in front of robots,” she said, estimating that she might spend 10 to 15 minutes delaying a machine on its route.The worst consequence, Marvin suggested, is that an office worker’s lunchtime bowl might arrive about 15 minutes late.But Marvin says her actions are intended to draw attention to bigger concerns, including delivery workers losing jobs, sidewalk safety and privacy risks from cameras embedded in the machines.“I also think that I have a First Amendment right to protest the abuses of corporations in public space, in the same public space that the robots are occupying,” she told CNN.Marvin said she has previously protested for civil rights, abortion rights and Black Lives Matter, as well as against the Vietnam and Gulf wars. She sees her latest campaign as an extension of that activism.“It’s what we need to do to make sure the government hears the will of the people,” she said.Marvin also says delivery robots have no place on sidewalks, viewing them as another example of technology encroaching on everyday life.“There’s a way in which we’ve surrendered the streets to cars long ago, and I don’t think we should surrender the sidewalks to machines,” she told CNN.“Machines in general encroach on our lives,” she continued. “Public space is the most visible place where they’re encroaching on our lives, but they’re going right up the ladder, and lots of people are interested in making that happen.”Even after her arrest, Marvin isn’t ready to call off her campaign.Asked whether she plans to continue blocking the robots, Marvin replied: “Oh yeah.”The Independent has requested comment from Uber Eats.