San Francisco's Mission District mourns beloved store cat killed by Waymo
2025-10-30
CBS News
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A Waymo autonomous vehicle in San Francisco allegedly struck and killed KitKat, a well-known bodega cat at Randa's Market. The incident, which occurred late at night, has sparked community grief and criticism over the AI system's failure to avoid the animal, highlighting concerns about autonomous vehicle safety.[AI generated]
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
Waymo vehicles operate using AI systems for autonomous driving. The incident involves the AI system's use leading directly to harm (the death of the cat). Although the harm is to an animal rather than a person, the definition of AI Incident includes harm to groups of people or communities, and harm to property, communities, or the environment. The death of a beloved community animal can be considered harm to the community and property (the cat as property of the store). Therefore, this qualifies as an AI Incident due to the AI system's use directly causing harm.[AI generated]