In early September, two teenagers were arrested after a Waymo robotaxi flagged a firearm during a ride, according to the Los Angeles Times. Waymo reported detecting a violation of its terms of service involving a firearm and alerted emergency services, leading to the arrest of the passengers after a loaded AR-style 'ghost gun' was found in the vehicle. The incident highlights the growing role of autonomous vehicles in law enforcement and the potential for AI to escalate situations without human intervention.

The case has sparked concerns about privacy and surveillance in autonomous vehicles. Waymo’s camera-equipped cars have been involved in multiple law enforcement requests, including a 2023 incident where the LAPD obtained footage of a hit-and-run captured by a nearby Waymo vehicle. During anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, five Waymos were vandalized, raising questions about whether the vehicles could be used to identify or arrest protesters. Waymo has not disclosed how many such requests it receives or how its system identifies potential violations.

Waymo’s public policies, which emphasize 'safety and security,' have been criticized for being too broad. Legal expert Hannah Tsukayama noted that riders should not have to infer that their behavior could result in a police response. She argued that Waymo should clearly state in its policy that such a possibility exists before passengers board. 'It is outside of the expectations of consumers,' she said.

The incident also raises fundamental questions about the nature of robotaxis. Are they simply rides with cameras for safety, or are they systems capable of calling the police on their own passengers? This issue is already being explored in fiction, such as the upcoming short film 'Road Rage,' which imagines a robotaxi turning against humans. The case offers a glimpse of what that might look like in reality.

The company has not disclosed how its AI system identifies firearms or how it handles flagged incidents. As robotaxis become more common, riders may need to develop new expectations about what happens inside them. A human driver can decide how to respond to what happens in their car, but in a robotaxi, cameras and software can flag what happens inside, remote workers may become involved, and the vehicle can pull over while police are summoned.