Be part of a rhetorical experiment !
For roboticists and biologists…
Does a robot decide (and not just select)? Does a robot feel (and not just touch)?
In science and technology, every new discovery leads to the use of terms and expressions that becomes the bedrock of humans’ representations, and this is particularly true today in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence where the words are borrowed from the vocabulary of the living (autonomy, decision-making, intelligence, learning, consciousness, etc.).
How do experts in robotics perceive their own object of research? How do they talk about moving machines? On the other hand, what do the specialists of the living think of such rapprochement? How do biologists describe bio-inspired robots?
Are there significant differences between roboticists and biologists in the words used to describe robots, in the sensations felt towards robots? What does it reveal about the status of the discipline of robotics itself, relatively to natural sciences?
As part of a joint research project between the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium and the LAAS-CNRS Toulouse, France, we investigate the bond between perception and language in the context of robotics, through a rhetorical approach. That means that we aim to capture the gaze of experts in robotics on one hand, and the point of view of specialists of the living on the other hand, in order to evaluate the criteria on which discourses about robots are built.
Based on the ancient technique of rhetoric, we invite you to practice the exercice of ekphrasis that is known to reveal a specific point of view on a object and create mental images. In this way, we aim to collect various and specific rhetorical strategies that are used spontaneously to represent robots.
Following the exercice, you will be invited for a debriefing session on your productions.
Thank you for your participation!