A couple of experiments with robots in San Francisco did not end successfully.
In early December, supervisors voted unanimously for Norman Yee’s legislation that restricts delivery robots from operating on most San Francisco streets. Yee told The Guardian “not every innovation is all that great for society.”
In other robot news, the San Francisco SPCA fired its security robot in early December after complaints. The five-foot-tall robot — which looked like a friendlier version of Doctor Who’s Daleks — patrolled the SPCA’s property with a mission reportedly to deter vandalism and homeless camping.
But even after the organization discontinued the robot’s use, it received “hundreds of messages inciting violence and vandalism against our facility and encouraging people to take retribution,” SF SPCA President Dr. Jennifer Scarlett informed Ars Technica. “We’ve already experienced two acts of vandalism on our campus.”
