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SF startup is testing robots in Airbnbs, and trashing them, lawsuit claims

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Re: SF startup is testing robots in Airbnbs, and trashing them, lawsuit claims

#91

Post by deckar01 »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #66
deckar01 wrote: post #31

> He looked through a window and saw black cables taped to the walls. A man was typing on a laptop sitting next to what appeared to be a robot. This sounds a lot like criminal invasion of privacy. Edit: What are you downvoting? You can’t secretly watch Airbnb guests through a window you rented to them for the same reason you can’t put spy cameras in their bathroom.

> You can’t secretly watch Airbnb guests through a window Systematically? No. Casually? Of course you can. Why wouldn’t you be allowed to? These aren’t corporate landlords, after all.

> The “Peeping Tom” Laws Penal Code 647(j) explicitly states it is not a defense to this charge that the defendant is a cohabitant, landlord, tenant, cotenant, employer, employee, or business partner or associate of the victim.

https://kelmanskylaw.com/crimes/peeping-tom-law-pc-647j-ca/

Re: SF startup is testing robots in Airbnbs, and trashing them, lawsuit claims

#92

Post by ElProlactin »

TZubiri wrote: post #14

Can any lawyer clear this up for me? If the company ends up having no commercial success and the lawsuits for damages rack up, can they just close the company file for bankruptcy and face no consequences? Or is there some civil or criminal risk to this behaviour?

In a case like this, it would be typical for all possible defendants to be named.

Since the Airbnb bookings were ostensibly made by individuals, most attorneys would also name those individuals (in addition to the company if the company was named).

Having your founders/management/employees rent houses via Airbnb is a really bad strategy for limiting your liability using a company.

Re: SF startup is testing robots in Airbnbs, and trashing them, lawsuit claims

#93

Post by p_j_w »

ElProlactin wrote: post #89
atherton94027 wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

tbqh the airbnb owners are also outsourcing the externalities of short term rentals to make a quick buck. It's outsourcing all the way down

Two wrongs don't make a right.

Indeed, but they do make a pretty compelling schadenfreude.

Re: SF startup is testing robots in Airbnbs, and trashing them, lawsuit claims

#94

Post by rdtsc »

nxobject wrote: post #22
htrp wrote: post #4

>Donovan alleges that employees of the Bot Company(opens in new tab) rented his home “under false pretenses” to conduct prototype testing on robots they’re training to do household chores. >A refrigerator shelf was cracked, and a broken glass or dish had been left in the garbage disposal. A wooden nightstand drawer was chipped. Cups and plates were in the wrong places. It looked like the furniture had been moved arou…

> “Sorry :( Did my best!” said a pithy message the group left on a whiteboard on his scuffed-up dining table. Well, no wonder people don't have faith in the people selling AI.

Love that part. It really illustrates how incompetent these people are. That’s why the need for robots, they are projecting their incompetence on other people!

Also, if this is the best they can do and left such a mess, don’t let them operate robots or any machines! Teach them to use a mop and then maybe upgrade them to a vacuum, and if they pass, let them use a sink garbage disposal under adult supervision.

Re: SF startup is testing robots in Airbnbs, and trashing them, lawsuit claims

#95

Post by mvdtnz »

This is not Donovan's "home", as the article states. It's his house and rental business. And he was snooping on his guests when he was taking the rubbish bins out and happened to notice cables and people typing on laptops inside the house - which I'm sure is an explicit violation of Airbnb policies.

Re: SF startup is testing robots in Airbnbs, and trashing them, lawsuit claims

#96

Post by rapidaneurism »

mrandish wrote: post #80
est31 wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's fine to make mistakes, that's how you learn. The problem here was that they didn't announce to the host that they are doing a test of their in-development equipment. So the host wasn't able to add the additional risk and hassle to the price, which in this instance would have been a quite legitimate ask as the robot damaged their revenue generating property. It's very ironic that Airbnb itself has done similar pr…

> The problem here was that they didn't announce to the host that they are doing a test of their in-development equipment. I might be okay forgiving skirting the disclosure rules BUT only if they tried to be model tenants and, if there was any damage, took steps to proactively make things right. If you're breaking the rules, even if there was no damage, you should definitely be cleaning up and putting things back in…

But that like costs money and/or time.

Re: SF startup is testing robots in Airbnbs, and trashing them, lawsuit claims

#97

Post by watwut »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #25
ssl-3 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, it's good that they're testing things in different places. Environments vary. But hundreds of millions sounds like enough money to get some industrial or dead commercial space (even in/around SF) and outfit it to be like an apartment. Or six different ones, and six others two weeks from now, and two weeks after that. The cost of the space and the carpenters/painters/drywallers/handymen/managers/whatevers woul…

They want realistic randomness in the apartment layouts. This is a quick, effective way to get that. If they were honest with the hosts, it wouldn’t even be a bad idea.

Lack of honesty is only one issue. Destroying things, leaving mess and forcing someone else to fix it iw the big one.

And that is very much on brand for these groups.

Re: SF startup is testing robots in Airbnbs, and trashing them, lawsuit claims

#98

Post by Animats »

fidotron wrote: post #9
starkparker wrote: post #3

so, so close to having people legitimately and earnestly start saying "we don't serve their kind here" while gesturing to humanoid robots

Human only "safe spaces" will be a thing. Where they draw the line will be the question.

Southwest Airlines just banned humanoid robots on their flights.[1]

[1] https://aeronauticsmagazine.com/news/no-robots-allowed-south...

Re: SF startup is testing robots in Airbnbs, and trashing them, lawsuit claims

#99

Post by Animats »

kibwen wrote: post #39
chatmasta wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These bots are going to arrive suddenly and in huge volume. I’m not sure when it will happen, but when it does, it will be extremely fast. The software is basically ready, and the hardware isn’t too far off. The processing latency will be problematic but with local inference improving quickly, this will all come together into the perfect storm for the arrival of the bot army. I don’t think any of us are prepared for…

No, neither the hardware nor software is anywhere even remotely ready, where by "ready" we mean "safe to share living spaces with unsupervised children and pets without EVER accidentally reducing your toddler to a fine paste, literally a 0% chance". That's the minimum that people will accept, and that's more than ten years away, if it ever happens.

Both of the preceding comments are true. These things are about to arrive in vast volume, because the factories to build them are already starting to run. And they're nowhere near ready for that.

It took over a decade for Waymo to get from "able to drive around SF for demos" to "3x safer than humans, with thousands of vehicles on the roads".

A lot of these things may end up in closets, next to the VR headset and the 3D TV.

Re: SF startup is testing robots in Airbnbs, and trashing them, lawsuit claims

#100

Post by input_sh »

mvdtnz wrote: post #95

This is not Donovan's "home", as the article states. It's his house and rental business. And he was snooping on his guests when he was taking the rubbish bins out and happened to notice cables and people typing on laptops inside the house - which I'm sure is an explicit violation of Airbnb policies.

> Hosts are allowed to have exterior security cameras and recording devices, and are required to make sure their location is disclosed in the listing’s description (ex: “I have a camera in my front yard,” “I have a camera over my patio,” “I have a camera over my pool” or “I have a doorbell camera monitoring my front door and the hallway of my apartment building.”)

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3061

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