We approach cultural robotics as a political ecology of social robotics: that is, a lens for analyzing the far-reaching impacts of the integration of robots into the human lived experience.

Background

In Cultural Robotics (2016) we anatomised the topic of Cultural Robotics in four ways; Robots as Maintainers of Culture, Robots as Participants in Culture, Robots as Producers of Culture, and speculation concerning the Advent of Robotics Culture, as a means of defining the spectrum of integration between robots with human culture and beyond. Within this publication, it was concluded that social robots would soon advance beyond interactive embodied entities, to social agents with meaningful cultural impact on a range of human communities and activities, with the potential means to create a culture that might be entirely foreign and incomprehensible to human culture.

In the second instalment of Cultural Robotics (2023), we advanced upon the demonstrated integration of robotics deeply into many aspects of human activity and culture, and approached cultural robotics as a political ecology of social robotics: that is, a lens for analysing the far-reaching impacts of the integration of robots into the human lived experience. We defined ‘political ecology’ as the study of the relationships between political, economic and social factors with environmental issues and changes; in this context, we view the ‘environment’ as the human social sphere.

In this third instalment and second workshop on Cultural Robotics, we aim to expand the discourse on the cultural contributions and impact of social robots on complex ecosystems, particularly in spaces of human connection and transition. How do robotic and artificial technologies facilitate the transition from one paradigm to another? Can these technologies be a vehicle for change in broader and more complex systems? How could these technologies promote the transformations towards diversity, inclusivity and sustainability within social, political, economic and cultural ecologies?

Call for Submissions

We are pleased to invite scholars, researchers, and experts from various backgrounds to submit their papers for the second instalment of the Cultural Robotics Workshop, colocated at ICRA 2024 in Yokohama. This workshop continues the exploration of the profound intersection between robotics and human culture, delving into the transformative potential of social robots and their impact on complex ecosystems within our society.

Peer-reviewed Publication Opportunity

As with the first workshop instalment, the outcomes of this second instalment will be featured in a workshop proceedings volume published by Springer in their Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS) series. All manuscripts will be peer-reviewed via single-blind review by three reviewers, sourced from both the programme committee members as well as external reviewers who are experts in the field. You can find the previous workshop instalment here.

Workshop Themes and Topics

In our previous publications and discussions, we have examined robots as maintainers of culture, participants in culture, and producers of culture, and speculated on the emergence of a Robotic Culture, where robotic systems might create a culture of their own. Building upon this foundation, the 2023 workshop will focus on the following themes:

Political Ecology of Social Robotics: Explore how robots deeply integrate into human activity and culture, using a lens of political ecology to analyse their wide-ranging impacts on the human social sphere. Examine the relationships between political, economic, and social factors, and the changes brought about by the integration of robots.

Robots as Agents of Change: Investigate how robotic and artificial intelligence technologies facilitate transitions from one paradigm to another. Can these technologies serve as vehicles for change in complex systems, fostering diversity, inclusivity, and sustainability within social, political, economic, and cultural ecosystems?

Who Should Contribute

We welcome contributions from a diverse range of backgrounds and disciplines, including but not limited to:

•   Social Robotics

•   Human-robot Interaction

•   Artificial Intelligence

•   Cultural Studies

•   Digital Humanities

•   Social Sciences

•   Education

•   Creative Practice

With a strong focus on promoting a diversity of contributions, we welcome researchers from a wide range of backgrounds and disciplines. We particularly welcome First-Nations and practice-led scholars. We strongly encourage submission from those working in assistive technology; Editorial mentorship is provided for any autistic and neurodivergent authors negotiating peer-review processes and academic publishing for the first time.

Submission Guidelines

Paper review submissions due: December 18th 2023 @23:59 GMT

Camera-ready submissions due: January 31st 2024 @23:59 GMT

Workshop date: May 13th to May 17th 2024 (TBD, Colocated at ICRA 2024)

All submissions must follow the Springer LNCS Author Guidelines

For inquiries and paper submissions, please contact culturebots@gmail.com

Programme Committee Chairs

  • Dr Belinda J Dunstan

    Belinda is the Principal Lead of the UNSW Creative Robotics Lab in Sydney Australia, with expertise in the ethical design of social robot morphology (PhD 2019). Belinda has published with first quartile publishers such as SAGE Journal, Taylor & Francis and Springer and presented at T1 international robotics conferences such as SIGGRAPH, RO-MAN and ICRA. She is the lead editor of Cultural Robotics: Social Robots and their Emergent Cultural Ecologies (Springer 2023). A comprehensive list of publications can be found here.

  • Dr Jeffrey TKV Koh

    Jeffrey earned his PhD in Integrative Sciences and Engineering from the National University Singapore, focusing on human-computer and human-robot interaction. His research has been published in venues such as UBICOMP, CSCW, IEEE Haptics Symposium, SIGGRAPH, SIGDOC, INTERACT, ISMAR and RO-MAN, and has patents in the US, Singapore and Japan for his research. Jeffrey is currently an Associate Professor at the Singapore Institute of Technology and is a pioneering researcher in Cultural Robotics. You can learn more about his work and research here.

Programme Committee Members