The dying of beloved neighborhood cat named KitKat, which was struck and killed by a Waymo in San Francisco’s Mission District final week, is sparking uproar within the metropolis and throughout the web. Now native politicians and neighborhood leaders are harnessing momentum to place new limits on the fast-spreading autonomous automobile business.
KitKat was an everyday fixture on the deli and liquor retailer Randa’s Market, and was well-known within the neighborhood and on social media. In a current podcast interview, Daniel Zeidan, a part of the household that owns Randa’s, described KitKat as unequivocally adored.
“The nickname that they’d for him was the mayor of sixteenth Avenue,” Zeidan stated. “He would stroll down there, stare up on the workers and anticipate them to throw hen at him … He actually ran the block.”
However on 27 October, KitKat was struck by a Waymo autonomous automobile, which lately has develop into a ubiquitous sight across the metropolis. Waymo confirmed the dying in a press release to the Guardian. “Whereas our automobile was stopped to choose up passengers, a close-by cat darted underneath our automobile because it was pulling away,” an organization spokesperson stated.
Tributes have poured in throughout social media for KitKat, who might typically be discovered curled up behind the counter at Randa’s, or strolling into the close by Dalva bar to obtain a royal reception. A shrine has popped up outdoors of Randa’s, replete with photographs of KitKat, bouquets of flowers and well-wishes.
Native legislators are utilizing the incident to name for limits on the business’s progress. Jackie Fielder, a San Francisco metropolis supervisor, stated she plans to introduce laws that might enable counties to resolve whether or not they may allow the operation of autonomous autos, and is asking upon the California legislature to think about doing the identical. Fielder stated the invoice shall be just like a 2024 effort within the California legislature.
“We’re completely coming to your backside greenback,” Fielder stated of Waymo in a Tuesday press convention held outdoors of Randa’s Market. Audio system included native politicians, union leaders and transit advocates, who touched on fears of job substitute by way of AI and the lack of native political management in opposition to tech firms.
Justin Dolezal, an area bar proprietor and head of a small enterprise coalition, additionally spoke about KitKat’s position in the neighborhood, and in favor of the decision.
“The mayor of this area was taken by expertise that none of us requested for, and crucially to this decision, none of us consented to,” Dozel stated.
KitKat’s dying is the newest swell in waves of anti-AI sentiment and issues over autonomous autos, though others level to information exhibiting a agency security report. Whereas Waymo says it operates round 1,500 vehicles throughout the US, precise numbers for San Francisco’s fleet are unclear. Protestors and activists have taken to disabling Waymos by putting visitors cones on their hoods and even setting them on fireplace. Cruise, one other autonomous taxi firm, agreed final yr to shell out greater than $8m in 2024 to a Bay Space lady who was dragged over 20ft of pavement by an autonomous automobile. Questions have additionally arisen over the best way to ticket and self-discipline autonomous autos after they violate visitors legal guidelines.
Waymo declined to touch upon the proposed laws in a written assertion to the Guardian however stated that “belief and the security of the communities we serve is our highest precedence”.
“We ship our deepest sympathies to the cat’s proprietor and the neighborhood who knew and liked him, and now we have made a donation to an area animal rights group in his honor,” the assertion stated.
As politicians push for change, some have taken upon themselves to honor KitKat in distinctly Silicon Valley-style methods. Zeidan has launched a memecoin honoring KitKat’s legacy, and likewise stated that he was disillusioned to see others launch their very own imitation tokens in an try to revenue off KitKat’s dying.
Zeidan hopes to make use of proceeds to assist native veterinarians and animal welfare organizations. He was impressed to take action after the veterinarian that tried to save lots of KitKat’s life dropped the price of all the medical invoice.
“We wished to honor the cat,” Zeidan stated. “We need to assist shelters, we need to assist native animal organizations that assist animals.”
