This is actually perfect for AI robots to blend in waiting in public. Just like bartenders polishing glasses, you can't have them just staring making people uncomfortable.
You can bet that it won't matter if the robot is looking at you, it'll be capturing audio/video and collecting huge amounts of sensor data about its surroundings at all times. A robot looking at a phone would be redundant. Maybe the publishing lobby could push to get them to read physical books instead.
