Robotic Agents and the Evolving Nature of “Social”

Building on The Media Equation (1996), which highlighted the reflexive way humans treat computers and other technologies as social actors, this seminar will explore the depths and implications of robots and other anthropomorphized technologies as they adopt increasingly humanlike traits. As these technologies learn to mimic and replicate the nuances of our interactions, what responsibility do we have for their deployment and transparency in use? How will the creation of increasingly humanlike technologies change the ways in which we work, play, and live? Even if we could create artificial people, should we?

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Shane Saunderson
University of Toronto
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Shane Saunderson received a B.Eng. in mechanical engineering from McGill University in 2005 and a M.B.A. in technology and innovation from Ryerson University in 2011. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate studying social Human-Robot Interaction under Prof. Goldie Nejat within the Autonomous Systems and Biomechatronics Laboratory (ASBLab) in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at the University of Toronto. Shane holds a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship and is a Junior Fellow with Massey College. His research focuses on psychological influence caused by robots during social interactions with particular interest in topics such as persuasion, trust, and leadership.

Wed, May 29, 2019
04:00 PM - 05:30 PM
Centre for Ethics, University of Toronto
200 Larkin