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Social Injustice, Group Membership and Epistemic Trust in Robots

Stedtler, Samantha LU (2024) Robo-Identity Workshop 3, HRI'24: Robo-Identity: Designing for Identity in the Shared World p.1-4
Abstract
This paper focuses on the intersection of social dynamics, knowledge production, and the implementation of identity features in robotic platforms. Concentrating on the concept of epistemic injustice, particularly in the context of trust, the study highlights the potential for justified distrust based on experienced injustice. The incorporation of social identity features, such as gender, signals group membership and can instigate trust based on assumed shared experiences of oppression. However, I argue that this can lead to a form of deception, especially for oppressed groups, as robots lack the embodied experience of living through inequality. The paper explores the risk of companies, largely composed of privileged individuals,... (More)
This paper focuses on the intersection of social dynamics, knowledge production, and the implementation of identity features in robotic platforms. Concentrating on the concept of epistemic injustice, particularly in the context of trust, the study highlights the potential for justified distrust based on experienced injustice. The incorporation of social identity features, such as gender, signals group membership and can instigate trust based on assumed shared experiences of oppression. However, I argue that this can lead to a form of deception, especially for oppressed groups, as robots lack the embodied experience of living through inequality. The paper explores the risk of companies, largely composed of privileged individuals, potentially exploiting this trust. Three key suggestions for designing diverse robot identities are proposed: 1) Users should have control over robot features, emphasizing the non-fixed nature of robot identity 2) Diverse identity features should be combined to avoid overtrust and stereotyping 3) Robots should encourage users to rely on their own knowledge, fostering self-trust and preventing the perpetuation of privileged perspectives. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
published
subject
keywords
social robots, social identity theory, epistemic injustice, trust
pages
4 pages
conference name
Robo-Identity Workshop 3, HRI'24: Robo-Identity: Designing for Identity in the Shared World
conference dates
2024-03-11 - 2024-03-11
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
9452cd21-8c06-4779-97d5-3ce562478e95
date added to LUP
2024-06-04 16:37:17
date last changed
2024-06-17 11:04:57
@misc{9452cd21-8c06-4779-97d5-3ce562478e95,
  abstract     = {{This paper focuses on the intersection of social dynamics, knowledge production, and the implementation of identity features in robotic platforms. Concentrating on the concept of epistemic injustice, particularly in the context of trust, the study highlights the potential for justified distrust based on experienced injustice. The incorporation of social identity features, such as gender, signals group membership and can instigate trust based on assumed shared experiences of oppression. However, I argue that this can lead to a form of deception, especially for oppressed groups, as robots lack the embodied experience of living through inequality. The paper explores the risk of companies, largely composed of privileged individuals, potentially exploiting this trust. Three key suggestions for designing diverse robot identities are proposed: 1) Users should have control over robot features, emphasizing the non-fixed nature of robot identity 2) Diverse identity features should be combined to avoid overtrust and stereotyping 3) Robots should encourage users to rely on their own knowledge, fostering self-trust and preventing the perpetuation of privileged perspectives.}},
  author       = {{Stedtler, Samantha}},
  keywords     = {{social robots; social identity theory; epistemic injustice; trust}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{03}},
  pages        = {{1--4}},
  title        = {{Social Injustice, Group Membership and Epistemic Trust in Robots}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/188321801/stedtler2024_SocialInjusticeGroupMembership.pdf}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}