The conference Robo-Philosophy—Social Robotics and the Future of Social Relations will address philosophical issues that arise with the design and use of sociable robots. Can we have social interactions with robots? How much of a ‘theory of mind’ do robots need to be ‘sociable’? If we engage with robots as if they were persons, how will this affect how we understand ourselves and how we interact with other humans? The conference will feature philosophical research that closely interacts with empirical studies of concrete applications of sociable robots in robotics, psychology, anthropology, or cognitive science. The conference shall also clarify the extent to which philosophical research can be used for the design and use of sociable robots. See conference description.
The conference features 2 keynotes, 7 plenaries, and 36 session talks. The full conference program is now posted.
Keynotes:
Hiroshi Ishiguro, Director of the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory, Department of Systems Innovation, Osaka University, Japan.
Illah R. Nourbakhsh, Department of Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University, USA.
Mark Coeckelbergh, Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility, De Montfort University, UK.
Kerstin Dautenhahn, Centre for Computer Science and Informatics Research, University of Hertfordshire, UK.
Luciano Floridi, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, UK.
David Gunkel, Department of Communications, Northern Illinois University, USA.
Peter Kahn, Department of Psychology, University of Washington, USA.
John Sullins, Department of Philosophy, Sonoma State University, USA.
Wendell Wallach. Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, Yale University, USA.
August 20-23, 2014
Aarhus University
Building 1441
Aarhus
Denmark
Research group PENSOR (Philosophical and Transdisciplinary Enquiries in Social Robotics), Department for Culture and Society, Aarhus University.
Press contact: Marco Nørskov.
The conference is supported by a grant from the Velux Foundation.