People start from robotaxis and emo

In a strange (or joyful) episode late at night, which emphasized the public discomfort with self -governing vehicles, many men rose to Waymo robots in the Marina region of San Francisco and began to attack them.

Then they started sitting and climbing them, and did one point began to return back to turn the cars without a driver while the crowd chanted.

Ultimately, the city police cleared the scene, but the accident highlights the growing tensions on the spread of robotics in urban areas.

So what happened?

At approximately two in the morning last Sunday, the ABC7 Bay area picked up a disturbing shots of three Waymo vehicles that were frozen at the intersection of the streets of Fillmore and Greenwich.

Dozens are gathered around when individuals sat on top of the cars and were wrapped on their sensors. ABC7 I stated that there was no clear damage and no passengers inside.

Onlooker, captured in the video, was seen stirring back from Robotaxi.

Silica Joshia Talbot, veteran federal advisor in organizing independent vehicles, described behavior as “shocking and terrifying”, warning that such exciting works teach artificial intelligence systems that the crowds are aggressive, tending their behavior in future publishing operations.

“It is still dangerous as well. The jumps that these children were doing … If their head was hitting the ground, this is incredibly dangerous and illegal,” ABC7 said. She urged that “law enforcement should take these incidents seriously … at least at first to send a message.”

Waymo and Bay Area has a long history

The accident is not the first sign of friction.

the Washington Post mentioned In 2024 alone, Waymo 589 vehicles received parking tickets in San Francisco to obstruct traffic, violate street cleaning rules, and hinder emergency respondents. In one cases, Robotaxes Waymo caused more than two hours to delay the transit, including banning firefighters that respond to emergency situations.

It is a trend not limited to simple violations. I mentioned the guardian The robots were sabotaged by the mob – the claim, set fire, or was damaged with traffic cones – was distinguished by protesting independent vehicles in crowded neighborhoods. These actions show deep frustration between the population who feel their safety and rights to the streets.

“The car was not transporting any passengers and no injuries were reported,” And emo He said in a statement at that time. “We are working closely with local safety officials to respond to the situation.”

From the technical exhibition to the cultural flash point

San Francisco was an early adoption of robots, but the city has become an increasing stage of tests in the real world of how technology actually interacts with the people and places where they lived.

Waymo, who is now part of Alphabet, appeared in multiple urban areas such as Phoenix, Los Angeles and Austin, and has more than 200,000 paid trips per week by early 2025. But it is far from being everywhere and the modernity surrounding them.

The Marina incident highlights the broader social questions: Is robotics, which is still modern, raises unintended psychological responses from people, especially late at night? Can their hesitation be explained in complex urban environments, which leads to frustration, confrontation or worse? In one case, he took the same mob.

“It was when it was wild,” Michael Vandy told Reuters. “There were two groups of people, the people who encouraged it and the others who were just shocked and started filming. No one stopped. There was nothing you could do to stand on dozens of people.”

What comes after that to the organizers?

Self -government vehicle companies and organizers must wrestle more than avoid collision and maps, as they need to address human reactions in public places.

California DMV has proposed the authority to issue categories directly to self -driving companies that start in 2026, indicating organizational urgency. Cities It may also be imposed The mandatory “social influence” test or requires safety drivers inside the car in specific areas.

Meanwhile, vehicle designers should think of behavioral signals and cameras that allow robots to refer to the intentions of the pedestrians close, or to learn how to get out of situations such as being attacked while stopping.

Engineers try such tools, perhaps by turning lights or audio signals, or something simple like human eye contact in traffic. A passerby said, even this type of help may be useful during the Mini Waymo riot this week, because even cars were not sure what to do after that.

“There was a back officer, and in the end, everyone delivered everyone to the side until the car started to move,” Talbott He said to the news station. “Until the car hesitated because it started working again due to the intervention of humans.”

So what now?

What started as an experiment in urban transport has quickly became a cultural flash point, as human expectations collide with advanced technology.

But without a driver to direct or defend them, how safe the people who use them and the cars themselves are if they face hostile spectators and cannot leave immediately? This may be a question even that companies that make cars without a driver cannot answer.

“What has become very clear is that AV technology is not as sophisticated as industry wants to believe,” Reuters said.

Marina’s scene is not just a virus. It is an invitation to wake up. Waymo and the industry do not need to move not only in the streets, but the societal terrain where the audience must gain a safe, respectful interaction at the same time.

“We see people reaching a boiling point on technology who do not want them and do not make their lives better.” Messi Kamings, Director of the George Mason University Independence Center, and a former adviser to American traffic safety organizers, Reuters said.