iRobot Roomba j7 VS Instant Pot Duo Plus
Verdict DROP IT DROP IT
The Reality MIT Technology Review's December 2022 investigation found that images captured by development versions of the Roomba J7 series -- gathered during a 2019-2022 data-collection program with paid testers -- ended up leaking publicly. In one 2020 case, gig workers in Venezuela hired by contractor Scale AI to label objects in the images (used to train the object-recognition feature) posted at least 15 of those images to closed social-media groups, including a photo of a minor and a photo of a woman sitting on a toilet. Nearly a dozen program participants came forward after the investigation was published, saying they felt misled about how their images would be handled and viewed by outside contractors. iRobot's position is that these images came from development units under separate testing consent agreements, not from a consumer's purchased Roomba operating normally. CPSC's 2022 recall notice documents a real fire hazard specific to roughly 2 million Duo Plus 6-Quart units: the appliance could overheat, melt, and spark during normal use, with reports of resulting property damage and at least one reported injury. This wasn't an isolated incident for the Instant Pot brand -- CPSC records show separate prior recalls, including a 2015 shock-hazard recall of the original Smart/Smart-60 models and a 2018 recall of about 104,000 Gem 65 8-in-1 Multicookers for an overheating/melting fire hazard.
SHORT ANSWER
iRobot Roomba j7: MIT Technology Review's 2022 investigation found images from Roomba J7 development units -- including a photo of a woman on a toilet and a minor -- were leaked to social media by workers at an overseas data-labeling contractor, though iRobot says these came from testing units, not consumers' purchased Roombas.
Instant Pot Duo Plus: A 2022 CPSC recall covering roughly 2 million Instant Pot Duo Plus 6-Quart units found the appliance could overheat, melt, and spark during normal use, marking the brand's third distinct safety recall since 2015.