Connects an examination of human-robot interactions with larger considerations of modernity and 21st century technology
Demonstrates the importance of actively questioning how technology changes the intimate relationships of humans
Examines human interactions with robots through the lens of magical thinking and enchantment
About this book
This book argues that robots are enchanting humans (as potential intimate partners), because humans are enchanting robots (by performing magical thinking), and that these processes are a part of a significant re-enchantment of the “modern” world. As a foundation, the author examines arguments for and against intimate relationships with robots, particularly sex robots and care robots. Moreover, the book provides a consideration of human-robot interactions and philosophical reflections about robots through the lens of magic and magical thinking as well as theoretical and practical re-evaluations of their status and presence. Furthermore, the author discusses the abovementioned issues in the context of disenchantment and re-enchantment of the world, characterizing modernity as a coexistence of these two processes. The book closes with a consideration of future scenarios regarding the meaning of life in the age of rampant automation and the possibility that designing robots becomes a sort of new eugenics as a consequence of recognizing robots as persons.
Keywords
- HRI
- Human-Robot Interactions
- STS
- Social Studies of Robotics
- Magical Thinking
- Cognitive Development
- Enchantment
- Dis-enchantment
- Social Robotics
- Sex Robots
- Robot Ethics
- Robophilosophy
- Magic
- Intimacy
Authors and Affiliations
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Department of Philosophy, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poznań, Poland
Maciej Musiał
About the author
Maciej Musiał, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland. He is interested in transformations of intimacy, new technologies and magical thinking.