Together with Arisa Ema (University of Tokyo), DIJ social scientist Celia Spoden will give an online presentation on ‘Cyber-Physical Presence: Telepresence Robots at School in Japan and Germany’ in the panel ‘Culture and Space: Cultural negotiations of robots in everyday spaces’ at the Robots, AI and Culture symposium. The one-day symposium on February 8 is hosted by the University of Sydney and focuses on cultural translation, transference, and adoption of developing technologies in robotics and artificial intelligence. Celia’s co-authored paper on the use of telepresence robots in schools is based on a qualitative study that compares the Japanese case of the avatar-robot OriHime with the usage of AV1 in German schools. The avatar-robots aim to enable children who cannot attend school due to an illness, disabilities, or extended hospital stays to stay socially connected, restore normality, and prevent social isolation. Details and registration here
This symposium aims to explore the existing and possible future impacts of robotic and AI technologies. It draws its inspiration from Amara’s Law, an aphorism stated by the late Roy Amara (the Institute for the Future): ‘We tend to overestimate the effect of a technology in the short run and underestimate the effect in the long run’ (Amara, 2006). To this end, the symposium aims to highlight the cultural interpretation and/or transference of technologies between cultures. Andrew Feenberg, a leading philosopher of technology, discusses the complex entanglements of technology, society, and culture in a globalised world. He uses the terms ‘branching’ and ‘layering’ to explain these relations (2010). In the branching of a technology, ‘the trace of [Western or dominant] values appears clearly in design features of technical artifacts’ in the new culture, though that particular technology might be layered on top of or beneath specific cultural values and codes (Feenberg 2010).
This event seeks to investigate, through discussion of case studies, where cultural values have influenced or are currently influencing the adoption or rejection of robotic and AI technologies, and how societies adapt to ‘new’ and ‘imported’ technologies. While a discussion of transference or adoption relates to both a ‘source’ culture and a ‘destination’ cultural context, practices that decentre practices that have been deemed central, or articulate how the ‘periphery’ has shaped or influenced the ‘centre’, will be examined.
Keynote Speakers:
Professor Kaoru Endo (Gakushuin University, Japan)
Associate Professor Christoph Bartneck (University of Canterbury, New Zealand)
The Committee Members:
Yuji Sone (Organiser), Richard Savery, and Chris Muller (Macquarie University) Ben Nickl, Justine Humphry, and Chris Chesher (University of Sydney)
Supported by:
Toshiba International Foundation (TIFO); Department of Media, Communications, Creative Arts, Language and Literature, Macquarie University; and Department of Media and Communications, University of Sydney
Organisiert durch das DIJ Tokyo
Venue: Case Study Lecture Theatre 2090, Abercrombie Business School, The University of Sydney
09:00 - 15:00 Japan
Zur Veranstaltungsseite des DIJ Tokyo