Towards novel concepts of social presence for robots
Luisa Damiano, Belinda Dunstan and Rebecca Mannocci
A Workshop @ the International Conference of Social Robotics 2024
23-26 October 2024
Luisa Damiano, Belinda Dunstan and Rebecca Mannocci
A Workshop @ the International Conference of Social Robotics 2024
23-26 October 2024
A Workshop @ ICSR 2024
Odense, Denmark
October 23-26, 2024
Workshop date: October 23rd, 2024
Contact: rebecca.mannocci@studenti.iulm.it; luisa.damiano@iulm.it
Important Dates:
Abstract Due – Oct 10, 2024
Notification of acceptance – Oct 14, 2024
Call for participation:
We are interested in submissions of original HRI and Social Robotics research, or research in related fields, relevant to the topic of “Novel concepts of social presence for robots”. The submissions, in the form of an abstract (min 250, max 500 words), should be related to the investigation of one or more specific aspects of social presence of robots (e.g. theoretical, epistemological, methodological, applicative, social, anthropological, ethical aspects) within the context of HRI, Social Robotics or related fields. In particular, they should present original research works dealing with questions such as, but not limited to, the following:
How can we construct, for social robots, forms of presence that make them “social connectors” (Damiano, 2021), capable of facilitating, enriching, and intensifying human-to-human interactions, particularly for people with special needs?
Should we proceed in the direction of reproducing traits of human social presence in robots or in the direction of inventing new forms of social presence for these machines? Can evolutionary anthropology be a useful source of knowledge in this process? If yes, should we rely on the synthetic (“understanding-by-building”) method or on new, specific methodologies of inquiry?
How can we understand the impact that he social presence of a robot may have on human social behavior and on human value choices and conducts? How can we construct empirical studies that enable us to estimate this impact?
Can the diffusion of social robots be proactively directed towards the goal of creating forms of social presence for robots capable of positively transforming our sociality and why? If so, what forms of scientific exploration could support us in this undertaking?
What epistemological, ethical, social principles should be included in the design of next-generation social robots and human-robot (social) interactions?
Submission requirements for abstracts:
If you would like to contribute to our workshop, please write an email to rebecca.mannocci@studenti.iulm.it (cc: luisa.damiano@iulm.it) with:
1. list of authors;
2. title of the abstract;
3. abstract (min 250 - max 500 words)
Plan for publication:
Once the workshop is concluded, we intend to proceed with the organization of a special issue in a scientific journal, preferably the International Journal of Social Robotics (IJSR). The special issue will contain an article presenting and discussing the roadmap generated during the workshop, extended versions of a selection of the papers presented at the workshop, plus articles selected based on a dedicated call and related peer review process.