Amazon has a new plan for its home robot Astro: to guard your life

Amazon also announced a new collaboration between Astro and the Ring home security camera system, called Virtual Security Guard, which would protect areas outside the home from possible break-ins. Amazon, which bought Ring in 2018, pitched the pairing as a way to further guard small businesses from break-ins, by videotaping intrusions and calling the authorities (though it seems like homeowners should be able to use that capability as well). Ring's approach to surveillance hasn't been without controversy. As my colleague Eileen Guo reported last year, Ring marketed itself as a tool to protect domestic violence survivors, but it simultaneously provided access into survivors' lives. Ring has also been called out for racial profiling and privacy violations.