US senior blocks delivery robot: “Of course I’ll continue”

taz: Ms. Marvin, do you still remember the first time you blocked a robot's path?

Carolyn Marvin: Oh yeah, that was a few months ago. The parts just annoyed me and I wanted to annoy them back. It was kind of funny, here and there, for a few minutes - I still have a life. My technique is that I stand in front of the robots and when they move, I move with them. However, they have become more nimble. Maybe they in the company think that, as an old woman, I'm not fast enough. But I am!

Marvin: My main reason is that robots are taking jobs away from delivery drivers. I also consider it my First Amendment right to protest abusive business practices. I want to point out that companies don't want to pay their delivery drivers anything - even though they are already at the bottom of the pay scale and have little opportunity to defend themselves against the robots. They are not unionized. That's why I try to bring the topic into the public eye whenever I can. This leads to interesting conversations that I think we should also have in public spaces.

taz: What do you hear most often?

Marvin: That I prevent anyone from getting the food they paid for. To which I then say: “If you are concerned about money, then you should be more concerned about the income that is withheld from the delivery workers”. I will also delay delivery for a maximum of a quarter of an hour. It's really not a big deal.

78, is professor emeritus of communication, culture and media at the University of Pennsylvania and has published several books. She lives in Philadelphia.

taz: Now you could say that it even makes sense to have robots carry out such precarious, physically demanding jobs...

Marvin: It's often immigrants who do the work that others don't want to do. And if there are people who want to work as delivery drivers, companies shouldn't be allowed to take it away from them in order to increase their own profits. In addition, the robots are not particularly efficient; they constantly encounter obstacles in crowded urban areas. By the way, when I block, I make sure that I never block the path of pedestrians.

taz: You were temporarily arrested about a week ago. What happened there?

Marvin: I was coming back from my flu shot when I saw another robot right near a big market. The police officers got there pretty quickly. I did not comply with your repeated requests to leave the robot alone and invoked freedom of speech and assembly. To be honest, I even dared them to arrest me. I didn't think they had any basis for it. But there is actually a law in Pennsylvania that gives robots the rights of pedestrians - which I find appalling. I was arrested for disturbing public order. But I definitely object.

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taz: You also deal scientifically with public space. What interests you about it?

Marvin: As a professor, I taught a course on public space for several years. One reason for this was that I observed that the young students rarely leave campus and are always staring at their screens. Sometimes I think people are afraid to talk to each other. Interaction is so important.

Marvin: Of course. I already announced that when I was arrested.