Three Responses to Anthropomorphism in Social Robotics
Towards a Critical, Relational, and Hermeneutic Approach
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8094562 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Mark Coeckelbergh (0000-0001-9576-1002, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Pages | 2049-2061 |
| Publication date | 2021-03-22 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Social Robotics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1875-4791 • E-ISSN: 1875-4805 |
| Publisher | Springer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s12369-021-00770-0 |
| OpenAlex | W3138224417 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 28 |
| References cited | 18 |
Both designers and users of social robots tend to anthropomorphize robots. Focusing on the question how to conceptualize the relation between robots and humans, this paper first outlines two opposite philosophical views regarding this relation, which are connected to various normative responses to anthropomorphism and anthropomorphization. Then it argues for a third view: navigating between what it calls “naïve instrumentalism” and “uncritical posthumanism”, it develops a hermeneutic, relational, and critical approach. Paradoxically, by unpacking the human dimension of robotics in its use and development, this view enables a critical discussion of anthropomorphizing robots. At the same time, and again somewhat paradoxically, it avoids a naïve instrumentalist position by taking robots’ role as an instrument in a larger con-technology seriously. As such, the third view questions the dualism assumed in the debate. The paper then explores what this means for the field of social robotics and the education of computer scientists and engineers. It proposes a reform based on a relational understanding of the field itself and offers suggestions for the role of users-citizens
Cognitive science · Dualism · Epistemology · Field (mathematics · Instrumentalism · Normative · Posthumanism · Relation (database · Robot · Robotics · Sociology · Computer Science · Ethics and Social Impacts of AI · Innovative Human-Technology Interaction · Psychology · Social Robot Interaction and HRI · Artificial Intelligence · Philosophy
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| Unique citing works | 28 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 7 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2026 (5) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 28 |