Communicative AI in (Inter-)Action: Investigating Human-Machine Encounters outside the Laboratory

So far, human-machine encounters have primarily been tested and monitored in controlled laboratory settings. However, the first robots that are used in care, service and education are already being sold commercially. The contributors grapple with methodological challenges in investigating communicative AI systems in (inter-)action. They investigate how these studies can be composed and what kinds of insights such research can provide. With this, the anthology brings together contributions from a growing community of researchers who are committed to exploring communicative AI »in (inter-)action« by using and adapting qualitative (and mostly ethnographic) methods.

Florian Muhle (Prof. Dr.) lehrt Kommunikationswissenschaft mit dem Schwerpunkt Digitale Kommunikation an der Zeppelin Universität in Friedrichshafen. Weitere Forschungsschwerpunkte sind Mensch-Maschine-Kommunikation, Verdatung und digitale Öffentlichkeiten.

Indra Bock is a Ph.D. student at Bielefeld Graduate School in history and sociology and a research fellow at Zeppelin Universität Friedrichshafen in the 3B Bots Building Bridges project. Her background lies in qualitative social research and media sociology. Her work surrounds human-robot interaction as well as automated communication in Online Social Networks and its influence on political opinion formation.