[Petit Fours #445] On robots, cautionary tales, and de-biasing practices
Hi, all! Here’s what I’ve got for you today:
#1 We recently got news that our national research group on Autonomous Systems and Robotics in Society got funded by WASP-HS. Five exciting years of collaboration ahead, led together with Hannah Pelikan, Madeline Balaam, and Katie Winkle. “The Autonomous Systems and Robotics in Society research group takes a human-centered and movement-focused approach to autonomous systems and robotics. We analyse and design human-robot interaction at three different levels, covering how individual human bodies move with robots in close, intimate proximity, how groups of people coordinate movement with and around robots, as well as how the spread of autonomous systems impacts society, in particularly the future of work, care, and labor. We study interaction with systems that are publicly deployed (high technological readiness) and develop our own robot designs with a focus on human experience (low to mid-level technological readiness). We aim to study interactions with robots as they unfold in society, and to develop social scientific methodologies for the study of autonomous systems and robotics in situ. The group contributes human-centered and movement-focused theories, bringing together somatic, interactional and critical-feminist approaches.”
#2 As part of the group’s activities, there’s now a call open for WASP-HS Postdoctoral Scholarship on Autonomous Systems and Robotics in Society (starting date fall 2026). This postdoc scholarship is open for researchers with a PhD degree from a Swedish institution. The successful candidate will be affiliated with Linköping University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Projects should center around observing robots in a real-world environment, focusing on interactional, embodied, and critical aspects. Applications are due by November 14. Please spread the word!
#3 My teaching this autumn has strong connections to design fiction. This new text by Julian Bleecker was a welcome reminder of what’s at stake: Suppose the cautionary tale is read as a playbook?
#4 Check out this forthcoming article on data work in the public sector by Tina Westergaard Milbak, Natalie C. Benda, and Naja Holten Møller: A Relational View of Data Work: A Case Study on Nurses’ De-biasing Practices
-A