Julie Carpenter, Ph.D.

People + Technology + Culture

About

I'm a social scientist and researcher focused on how identities and social relationships are shaped, negotiated, and expressed through interactions with technology. My work examines the ongoing interplay between humans and different forms of AI, focusing on how these relationships reshape concepts of identity, agency, and connection, while also informing the design of everyday technologies.

My recent book, The Naked Android: Synthetic Socialness and the Human Gaze, explores the stories people create about AI and robots, their expectations of robotic behavior, and how these cultural beliefs influence the design and use of real-world robots.

Invited speaking engagements have included California Polytechnic State University, Designskolen Kolding, Haus der Elektronischen Künste, Loyola University, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, TEDxEAL-Sweden, and UX Design Week San Francisco. Since 2015, I've been an External Fellow with the Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group at Cal Poly, a non-partisan organization that examines the human impact of emerging technologies.


jgcarpenter.com © 2025 by Julie Carpenter is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.