Reading the article, it appears that the roomba mapps your rooms as part of it's cleaninig pattern and this data has the potential to be collected. At this time irobot does not actually collect this data, and it seems they don't have any plans to (especially after the public reaction to the potential). Alarming, but not the reality at this time.
As for robot vacuums in general, I don't mind them. I feel they are overpriced but are useful for what they are. Of course they don't deep clean, I wouldn't expect a cordless stick vac to deep clean so why would I expect a robot to do so?
I have a robot vacuum in my apartment, which I share with three roommates. I don't have time to vacuum the kitchen and living room as frequently as it really needs, so I let the robot do it a couple times a week. The area is all hard floors with one low pile rug. It makes the area look presentable while I work on other things or go to class. Otherwise the area would be a complete mess.
The robot is a neato XV series, and I got it on sale about 3 and a half years ago and it still works perfectly. I've replaced the batteries, filters, and nothing else.
Robot vacuums have come a very long way in the last 15 years, and I believe the technology will continue to improve with time.