Serve Robotics, which delivers food for Uber Eats, provided footage filmed by at least one of its robots to the LAPD as evidence in a criminal case. The emails show the robots, which are a constant sight in the city, can be used for surveillance.

Serve Robotics, which delivers food for Uber Eats, provided footage filmed by at least one of its robots to the LAPD as evidence in a criminal case. The emails show the robots, which are a constant sight in the city, can be used for surveillance.

A food delivery robot company that delivers for Uber Eats in Los Angeles provided video filmed by one of its robots to the Los Angeles Police Department as part of a criminal investigation, 404 Media has learned. The incident highlights the fact that delivery robots that are being deployed to sidewalks all around the country are essentially always filming, and that their footage can and has been used as evidence in criminal trials. Emails obtained by 404 Media also show that the robot food delivery company wanted to work more closely with the LAPD, which jumped at the opportunity.

The specific incident in question was a grand larceny case where two men tried (and failed) to steal a robot owned and operated by Serve Robotics, which ultimately wants to deploy “up to 2,000 robots” to deliver food for UberEats in Los Angeles. The suspects were arrested and convicted.

read more: https://www.404media.co/serve-food-delivery-robots-are-feeding-camera-footage-to-the-lapd-internal-emails-show/

archive: https://archive.ph/997sA

  • RealFknNito@lemmy.world
    English
    1·
    8 months ago

    Yes but that’s a practice as old as the profession itself. Write a headline that’s not legally a lie, regardless of the implications, for the attention. It’s not something you can get rid of so long as they make money on said attention.

    The Ring situation however is a real issue. Police can just grab footage from those because the company allows it and it’s really fucked up.

    • WaxedWookie@lemmy.world
      1·
      8 months ago

      It’s an old practice, not an excusable one. Any “news” outlet pushing this misleading trash out should face similar consequences to false advertising without the need to initiate litigation (this isn’t libellous for example).

      But yeah, the ring situation is indeed very real, entirely fucked, and unlikely to change until their sales start taking a kicking.