Julie Carpenter, Ph.D.

The Naked Android: Synthetic Socialness and the Human Gaze

The Naked Android (Chapman & Hall/CRC Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Series/Taylor & Francis) illuminates the connections between the stories people tell, their expectations of what a robot is, and how these beliefs and values manifest in how real robots are designed and used.

The introduction of the human gaze (and the robot gaze) articulates how peoples’ expectations and perceptions about robots are ultimately based on deeply personal cultural interpretations of what is artificial or human and what problems social robots should—or should not—solve. “The Naked Android” clarifies how human qualities like understanding and desire are designed into robots as mediums as well as projected onto them by the people who live with them.

By investigating the fluidity of identities across human culture and social robotics, this book unpacks the contextual complexities of their interactions and mutual influences. Using ethnographic methods including in-depth interviews with a variety of stakeholders, each chapter explores how people are designing social robots, the experience of living with robots, and people whose jobs it is to dream about a future integrated with robots.

ISBN 9780367772529

296 Pages, 8 Color & 5 B/W Illustrations

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Culture and Human-Robot Interaction in Militarized Spaces: A War Story

Ground-breaking research by Julie Carpenter offers an alternative vision for the impact that robot soldiers could have on the relationship between the military and the state. Her seminal book "Culture and Human-Robot Interaction in Militarized Spaces: A War Story" is an extensive account of the relationships that have developed between Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams in the U.S. military and their robot comrades in arms.

— What Happens to Us When Robots Fight Our Wars? Two hypotheses. Elliot Short, War is Boring

Robots are quickly becoming indispensable tools and partners. This book offers an important perspective and vivid examples of how we humans interact with robots. It will be valuable to anyone interested in the very real emotional, sociological, and practical challenges associated with bringing robots into our lives.

— Woodrow N. Hartzog, Associate Professor, Cumberland School of Law at Samford University, and Affiliate Scholar at Stanford Law School/The Center for Internet and Society

Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) personnel are some of the most highly trained people in the military, with a job description that spans defusing unexploded ordnance to protecting VIPs and state dignitaries. EOD are also one of the first military groups to work with robots every day. These robots have become an increasingly important tool in EOD work, enabling people to work at safer distances in many dangerous situations. Based on exploratory research investigating interactions between EOD personnel and the robots they use, this study richly describes the nuances of these reciprocal influences, especially those related to operator emotion associated with the robots. In particular, this book examines the activities, processes and contexts that influence or constrain everyday EOD human-robot interactions, what human factors are shaping the (robotic) technology and how people and culture are being changed by using it. The findings from this research have implications for future personnel training, and the refinement of robot design considerations for many fields that rely on critical small group communication and decision-making skills.

Contents: Foreword by Lt. Col. Michael Kolb, Ph.D,; Preface. Part I Narratives: Introduction; Learning by experience; Explosive ordnance disposal stories. Part II Metaphors: Introduction; Our emotional engines; Meaningful connections with non-human things; Robot design as rhetoric. Part III Patterns: Introduction; The ecological system of U.S. military EOD work; Action formation; Preparing to repair; Transformational shifts. Appendices; References; Index.

ISBN: 9781472443113

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Book chapters in edited volumes

• Asimov Cocktail. (2025). In G. Friesinger, Grenzfurthner, J., & Ablinger, F. (Eds.) Roboexotica: Beautiful Failure. Vienna, AT: edition mono/monochrom. ISBN: 978-3-902796-99-8
• Emotional Intimacy and the Idea of Cheating on Committed Human–Human Relationships with a Robot. (2023). In Vallverdú, J. (Ed.) Gender in AI and Robotics. Intelligent Systems Reference Library, vol 235. Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21606-0_5
• Robots as Solace and the Valence of Loneliness. (2021). In A. Campbell, (Ed.), The Love Makers. UK: Goldsmiths Press. ISBN: 9781912685844
• Kill switch: The Evolution of Road Rage in an Increasingly AI Car Culture. (2020). Funded under Ethics + Emerging Sciences Group (California Polytechnic State University); National Science Foundation, Grant No. 1522240. In E. De Visser, R. Pak & E. Rovira [Eds.] Living With Robots: Emerging Issues on the Psychological and Social Implications of Robotics. Amsterdam: Elsivier.
• Deus Sex Machina: Loving Robot Sex Workers, and the Allure of an Insincere Kiss. (2017). In J. Danaher & N. McArthur (Eds.), Robot Sex: Social, Legal and Ethical Implications. (2017.) Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN: 9780262536028
• Just Doesn’t Look Right: Exploring the Impact of Humanoid Robot Integration Into Explosive Ordnance Disposal Teams. (2013). In R. Luppicini (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Technoself: Identity in a Technological Society (pp. 609-636). Hershey, PA: Information Science Publishing. doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-2211-1.

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