The Burning of Waymo Autonomous Vehicles in LA Protests

Photo Credit: bgonthescene

Sunday, June 8th 2025 protestors took to the streets of downtown Los Angeles in protest of the recent ICE invasions, and the overall increasingly hostile actions towards immigrants in America under the Trump administration. In the midst of these protests at least 3 Waymo autonomous vehicles were burned. Some may view this to be blatant destruction of property; however, I think that this was a significant spectacle which shows a view into the public’s negative feelings towards AI that has been boiling up over the past few years.

According to a Pew Research study, in 2021, 37% of respondents were more concerned than excited about AI, and this number increased to 52% in 2023. Numbers for 2024 and 2025 were not recorded; however, I suspect that they this concern will continue to increase. Additionally, according to a Quinnipiac poll “More than 8 in 10 Americans (83 percent) are either very concerned (54 percent) or somewhat concerned (29 percent) that AI will diminish the ability of the youngest generation to think for themselves.” Both of these examples show a growing anger and skepticism towards AI, and I felt that this image of the burning Waymo vehicles was more effective than any data visualization I have seen to convey this general sentiment.

Back around 2019-2020 when I initially became interested in AI, I had a sense of pride when I told someone I was studying Data Science, or I landed a Machine Learning internship. However, overtime, this pride has somewhat faded as public opinion towards AI has grown increasingly negative, and for good reasons too. Working in AI is no longer a politically or morally neutral occupation to be in. In an ABC 7 News article about the future of work with increasingly capable AI systems, they report “Dario Amodei, the head of the company behind AI model Claude 4, issued a blunt warning … saying that half of all entry-level white-collar jobs could be potentially wiped out by artificial intelligence within five years, potentially driving up the unemployment rate up to 20%.” So today when I tell people I work as a Machine Learning Engineer, I need to now preface exactly what it is that I am working on, so I do not get lumped into being part of the problem that many people now associate AI with.

People are rightly frustrated when out of touch AI CEOs say how AI will disrupt the labor market, but then offer no real solutions for the imminent job loss they profess. When I see images of these burning Waymo vehicles, I see it as a perfect representation of the frustration and sense of helplessness that people feel towards AI and a declining economy. I suspect public displays of protest towards AI companies will become increasingly common as AI will likely continue to reduce the demand for entry level labor.