Social robots as cultural objects: The sixth dimension of dynamicity?

Abstract

We investigate youths' conceptualization of social robots. Informed by Schudson's theory of the potency of the cultural object, we conducted two studies. The first study centered on essays on social robots written by bachelor's and master's students. The second study centered on prototypes of social robots built by small groups comprised of same students. The essays and prototypes were content analyzed. The results confirm that social robots embody all five dimensions that characterize cultural objects. However, to fully understand this peculiar cultural object, another dimension needs to be introduced: dynamicity.