The demise 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 trade.
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 Road,” Zeidan mentioned. “He would stroll down there, stare up on the staff and look ahead to 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 change into a ubiquitous sight across the metropolis. Waymo confirmed the demise in an announcement to the Guardian. “Whereas our automobile was stopped to choose up passengers, a close-by cat darted beneath our automobile because it was pulling away,” an organization spokesperson mentioned.
Tributes have poured in throughout social media for KitKat, who might usually 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 exterior of Randa’s, replete with pictures of KitKat, bouquets of flowers and well-wishes.
Native legislators are utilizing the incident to name for limits on the trade’s progress. Jackie Fielder, a San Francisco metropolis supervisor, mentioned she plans to introduce laws that might enable counties to resolve whether or not they are going to allow the operation of autonomous automobiles, and is looking upon the California legislature to contemplate doing the identical. Fielder mentioned the invoice can be just like a 2024 effort within the California legislature.
“We’re completely coming in your backside greenback,” Fielder mentioned of Waymo in a Tuesday press convention held exterior of Randa’s Market. Audio system included native politicians, union leaders and transit advocates, who touched on fears of job alternative through AI and the lack of native political management towards tech firms.
Justin Dolezal, a neighborhood bar proprietor and head of a small enterprise coalition, additionally spoke about KitKat’s position locally, 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 mentioned.
KitKat’s demise is the newest swell in waves of anti-AI sentiment and considerations over autonomous automobiles, though others level to knowledge exhibiting a agency security document. Whereas Waymo says it operates round 1,500 automobiles throughout the US, actual 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 hearth. 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 find out how to ticket and self-discipline autonomous automobiles after they violate visitors legal guidelines.
Waymo declined to touch upon the proposed laws in a written assertion to the Guardian however mentioned that “belief and the protection 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 beloved him, and we now have made a donation to a neighborhood animal rights group in his honor,” the assertion mentioned.
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 in addition mentioned that he was dissatisfied to see others launch their very own imitation tokens in an try to revenue off KitKat’s demise.
Zeidan hopes to make use of proceeds to help native veterinarians and animal welfare organizations. He was impressed to take action after the veterinarian that tried to avoid wasting KitKat’s life dropped the price of the whole medical invoice.
“We wished to honor the cat,” Zeidan mentioned. “We wish to help shelters, we wish to help native animal organizations that assist animals.”
