UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE
             COMPUTER SCIENCE RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM

                            presents
 
               How Social are "Social" Robots?  -
            Philosophical Reflections on the Social in
                    Dialogue with Robotics

                     Prof. Mark Coeckelbergh
          (Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility,
                     De Montfort University, U.K.)


                  25 November 2014 (** Tuesday **)
                       ** 11 am - 12 noon **

                  Hatfield, College Lane Campus
                    ** Seminar Room B400 **

                  Everyone is Welcome to Attend

                  Refreshments will be available

Abstract:

In this talk I critically discuss assumptions about the social in
robotics and in philosophy, and argue that social robotics risks
to contribute to what I call "the automation of the social", both
conceptually and practically. Then I explore if there are ways of
thinking about social robots and the social that do not focus on
the human/machine distinction. I suggest that we could conceptualize
human-robot relations in terms of different forms of sociality or social
roles and relations between characters, but emphasize that these are
always human interpretations and ascriptions; conceptualization of these
relations will always be done through the lens of human subjectivity,
and any "spontaneity" has its source in our human social imagination. I
conclude that social robotics could benefit from paying more attention to
human subjectivity, meaning, and culture, and that interfaces between
robotics and the humanities could helpfully supplement the current
dominance of empirical psychology in the field.

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Hertfordshire Computer Science Research Colloquium
http://cs-colloq.stca.herts.ac.uk