Video Games & Robotics
Video games are not a reality disconnected from our world. Game developers face very specific exciting ethical questions when it comes to the design of virtual environments and realities. These range from scenes of violence and cultural appropriation to the portrayal of social interaction.
In 2016, about 2.5 billion humans were reported to play video games (VideoGame Industry Statistics, 2020). As this number will grow, it is more and more important to investigate and understand the impact of video gaming on the populations. In the past few years, the research in this area has developed, from the influence video game experiences might have on human behaviours and attitudes towards specific social groups, to the importance of cultural representation in games. For example, playing as a black avatar shown to reduce bias against African Americans and enhanced the support for ‘pro-minority’ policies, and incarnating an immigration inspector could change beliefs and attitudes towards immigrants.
We propose to support you in designing ethical games, considering all aspects of their impact, and understanding the power that comes with their implementation in society.
As it relates to robots, and more specifically social robots, our expertise lies in the ethics and design of interactions between humans and the technology, from a simple UX set up for manufacturing robots, to the full extend of the relationships offered by complex social robots (e.g., educational robots, sex robots, service robots).
We will be happy to support you in understanding the impacts of your technical and interactional choices for your technology, and insure the most accepted and ethical outcomes through the understanding of whom your market target are, what they are expecting, and which responsible decisions to implement in the creation and implementation of your technology.
Our scholarly work in this area includes, for example, the following publications:
Scientific work in this area includes, for example, the following publications:
Podcasts: