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In Storage, Yet on Display: An Empirical Investigation of Robots' Value as Social Signals

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Matthew I. BeaneAuthors Info & Claims

HRI '20: Proceedings of the 2020 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction

Pages 83 - 91

https://doi.org/10.1145/3319502.3374775

Published: 09 March 2020 Publication History

Abstract

This paper suggests that humans value robotic systems as signals - costly, visible commitments that can secure access to preferred resources. This contrasts with HRI research, design, engineering and deployment, which have focused on robots' instrumental value - namely how designing and interacting with them may produce more or less productivity. Drawing on a multiyear ethnography of a "failed" robotic telepresence deployment in a teaching hospital, this paper shows that robots' signaling value can significantly outweigh - and even contravene - any practical utility that they may provide through use. This analysis further suggests that - unlike nontechnological organizational signals - robots' signaling value is highly contingent on the observability of their use. Considering robots' signaling value in complex social systems such as organizations promises improved robotic systems development and deployment techniques and improved prediction regarding human-robot interaction.

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Beane M(2023)Resourcing a Technological Portfolio: How Fairtown Hospital Preserved Results While Degrading Its Older Surgical RobotAdministrative Science Quarterly10.1177/0001839223117445068:3(691-733)Online publication date: 30-May-2023
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Index Terms

In Storage, Yet on Display: An Empirical Investigation of Robots' Value as Social Signals
1. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)

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cover image ACM Conferences

HRI '20: Proceedings of the 2020 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction

March 2020

690 pages

ISBN:9781450367462

DOI:10.1145/3319502

General Chairs:
Tony Belpaeme
Ghent University, Belgium
,
James Young
University of Manitoba, Canada
,
Program Chairs:
Hatice Gunes
University of Cambridge, UK
,
Laurel Riek
UC San Diego, USA

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Published: 09 March 2020

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HRI '20: ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2024.123577
Berx NBrescia AAqamarina RCurcio EPintelon LCarbone G(2023)Stakeholders’ perspectives on safety-related human–robot collaborative scenariosInternational Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems10.1177/1729880623120009520:5Online publication date: 27-Sep-2023
https://doi.org/10.1177/17298806231200095
Beane M(2023)Resourcing a Technological Portfolio: How Fairtown Hospital Preserved Results While Degrading Its Older Surgical RobotAdministrative Science Quarterly10.1177/0001839223117445068:3(691-733)Online publication date: 30-May-2023
https://doi.org/10.1177/00018392231174450
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