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How Social Robots Affect Privacy: Navigating the Landscape

  • Christoph Lutz , Aurelia Tamò-Larrieux and Eduard Fosch-Villaronga
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The De Gruyter Handbook of Robots in Society and Culture
This chapter is in the book The De Gruyter Handbook of Robots in Society and Culture

Abstract

Social robots are increasingly used in different domains, such as healthcare, education, and retail. Researchers across disciplines have shown how social robots differ from other technologies, for example in terms of ethical, legal, and social (ELS) aspects. Privacy is a particularly important and relevant ELS aspect of social robots, given their heightened autonomy, data-processing capabilities, and physical mobility. This chapter provides an overview of key privacy implications in relation to social robots. It reviews useful privacy theories and discusses recent studies on privacy and social robots, showing how such research has become more empirical over time but still prioritizes data protection and data-related aspects of privacy over other dimensions, such as physical, psychological, and social ones. The chapter also combines a social science and legal lens, showing how the law addresses relevant social and ethical implications, particularly in Europe. It concludes with a future research agenda on how to investigate the topic.

Abstract

Social robots are increasingly used in different domains, such as healthcare, education, and retail. Researchers across disciplines have shown how social robots differ from other technologies, for example in terms of ethical, legal, and social (ELS) aspects. Privacy is a particularly important and relevant ELS aspect of social robots, given their heightened autonomy, data-processing capabilities, and physical mobility. This chapter provides an overview of key privacy implications in relation to social robots. It reviews useful privacy theories and discusses recent studies on privacy and social robots, showing how such research has become more empirical over time but still prioritizes data protection and data-related aspects of privacy over other dimensions, such as physical, psychological, and social ones. The chapter also combines a social science and legal lens, showing how the law addresses relevant social and ethical implications, particularly in Europe. It concludes with a future research agenda on how to investigate the topic.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents V
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Section 1: Robots in Culture and Society
  5. Future Presence: Living with Social Robots 21
  6. Representing Robots in Popular Culture 47
  7. Designing Robots That are Accepted in Human Social Environments: Anthropomorphism, the Intentional Stance, Cultural Norms and Values, and Societal Implications 63
  8. Are Robotic Bodies (Part of) Social Bodies? 85
  9. Persons or Things: The Role of Robots in Society 105
  10. Automated Masspersonal Social Engineering 119
  11. Section 2: Humanistic and Social Scientific Perspectives
  12. Linguistics
  13. AI and Human Writing: Collaboration or Appropriation? 137
  14. Law
  15. Policies, Regulation, and Legal Perspectives on Social Robots 161
  16. How Social Robots Affect Privacy: Navigating the Landscape 179
  17. Sociology
  18. Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and the Evolution of the Social Sciences 203
  19. Human Interactions With (Embodied) AI: The Future of Authenticity in Human–AI Relation(ship)s 221
  20. Psychology and Neuroscience
  21. Mind Perception During and After Interacting with Artificial Agents 241
  22. How People Perceive Social Robots: The Case of Gender 261
  23. Relating with Social Robots: Issues of Sex, Love, Intimacy, Emotion, Attachment, and Companionship 277
  24. Real or Pretend? How Children Ontologize Social Robots as Mental and Moral Others 295
  25. Communication and Computer Sciences
  26. Rethinking Communication between Humans and Social Robots 313
  27. Interacting with Social Robots: The Influence of their Distinctive Cues, Behavioral Capabilities, and Affordances on Social Interaction and Well-being 335
  28. Integrating Big-Data Tools to Study AI and Human–Machine Communication: Methodology Strengths, Future Directions, and Applications 355
  29. Social Robots and Children: A Field in Development 371
  30. Section 3: Contexts of Human–Robot Interaction
  31. Anthropomorphizing Voice Assistants: A Research Agenda for Human–AI Relationships 391
  32. Domestic Appliances and Household Robots: The Changing Landscape of Housework and Family 411
  33. Ability and Disability: Social Robots and Accessibility, Disability Justice, and the Socially Constructed Normal Body 429
  34. Growing Old Together: The Promise and Challenge of Social Robots for Older Adults 447
  35. Power and Synchrony in Human Collaboration with Exoskeletons 467
  36. Index 489
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110792270-010

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents V
  3. Introduction 1
  4. Section 1: Robots in Culture and Society
  5. Future Presence: Living with Social Robots 21
  6. Representing Robots in Popular Culture 47
  7. Designing Robots That are Accepted in Human Social Environments: Anthropomorphism, the Intentional Stance, Cultural Norms and Values, and Societal Implications 63
  8. Are Robotic Bodies (Part of) Social Bodies? 85
  9. Persons or Things: The Role of Robots in Society 105
  10. Automated Masspersonal Social Engineering 119
  11. Section 2: Humanistic and Social Scientific Perspectives
  12. Linguistics
  13. AI and Human Writing: Collaboration or Appropriation? 137
  14. Law
  15. Policies, Regulation, and Legal Perspectives on Social Robots 161
  16. How Social Robots Affect Privacy: Navigating the Landscape 179
  17. Sociology
  18. Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and the Evolution of the Social Sciences 203
  19. Human Interactions With (Embodied) AI: The Future of Authenticity in Human–AI Relation(ship)s 221
  20. Psychology and Neuroscience
  21. Mind Perception During and After Interacting with Artificial Agents 241
  22. How People Perceive Social Robots: The Case of Gender 261
  23. Relating with Social Robots: Issues of Sex, Love, Intimacy, Emotion, Attachment, and Companionship 277
  24. Real or Pretend? How Children Ontologize Social Robots as Mental and Moral Others 295
  25. Communication and Computer Sciences
  26. Rethinking Communication between Humans and Social Robots 313
  27. Interacting with Social Robots: The Influence of their Distinctive Cues, Behavioral Capabilities, and Affordances on Social Interaction and Well-being 335
  28. Integrating Big-Data Tools to Study AI and Human–Machine Communication: Methodology Strengths, Future Directions, and Applications 355
  29. Social Robots and Children: A Field in Development 371
  30. Section 3: Contexts of Human–Robot Interaction
  31. Anthropomorphizing Voice Assistants: A Research Agenda for Human–AI Relationships 391
  32. Domestic Appliances and Household Robots: The Changing Landscape of Housework and Family 411
  33. Ability and Disability: Social Robots and Accessibility, Disability Justice, and the Socially Constructed Normal Body 429
  34. Growing Old Together: The Promise and Challenge of Social Robots for Older Adults 447
  35. Power and Synchrony in Human Collaboration with Exoskeletons 467
  36. Index 489
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