Carolyn Marvin, 78, was arrested Wednesday for blocking an Uber Eats delivery robot in Philadelphia and now plans to fight the disorderly conduct charge.
The retired University of Pennsylvania professor has spent months staging solo protests against autonomous delivery machines, positioning herself in their paths to halt their progress. Marvin, who taught a course on freedom of expression at Penn, told WPVI-TV that she views her sidewalk demonstrations as protected speech. “I think it’s my First Amendment right to publicly demonstrate on a sidewalk to protest against delivery robots,” she said.
She connected her actions to broader civic duty. “I’m exercising the rights of my citizenship, so I think of it in those terms.”
Marvin’s confrontation this week ended with police involvement after officers reportedly asked her “multiple times” to move aside and allow the machine to continue its route. When she refused, she was taken into custody and cited for disorderly conduct.
Her opposition centers on the economic impact of automation. The robots, manufactured by tech firm Avride, began making Uber Eats deliveries in portions of Philadelphia in March. Marvin accuses the corporations deploying them of eliminating human delivery positions to boost profits. “I know they’re taking the jobs of human delivery workers and so, I have been protesting them whenever I saw them by standing in front of them and preventing them from going forward,” she said.
The arrest has not deterred her. Marvin intends to contest the charge and continue her campaign against the machines wherever she encounters them. She also hopes her actions generate public discussion about workforce automation. “It allows me to talk to people about what’s going on,” she said. “It’s always very interesting conversations that we have, and I think it’s good to have those kinds of conversations in public space.”
Online reaction to Marvin’s arrest has split between supporters and critics. “Some heroines don’t wear capes,” one commenter wrote. Another supporter declared, “Should have destroyed the robot.” A detractor took a different view, posting, “Stopping it from bringing people they medicine is a crime!”
Marvin has confronted the sidewalk robots repeatedly before this incident, establishing a pattern of direct action against the technology. The machines operate autonomously, navigating city streets without human drivers to transport food orders from restaurants to customers.
The Philadelphia deployment represents part of a broader expansion of robotic delivery services in urban areas, with companies pitching automation as efficient and cost-effective while critics warn of job displacement in gig economy sectors.
Marvin’s next court appearance has not been scheduled.