Julie Carpenter, Ph.D.

People · Technology · Culture

On a blue background, two blue androgynous humanlike figures face each other, their mutual gaze highlighted in orange.

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 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? 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, Professor, Boston University.

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.

By combining in-depth interviews with EOD, textual and historical research, and archival studies, this book helps identify implications of people tightly teamed with semiautonomous AI systems.

In particular, Culture and Human-Robot Interaction in Militarized Spaces: A War Story richly describes the nuances of the reciprocal influences of human and machine. These insights inform UX and safety design for autonomy and decision-support tools in other high-stakes environments, including implications for transparency, role clarity, human-in-the-loop handoffs, and ethical risk communication.

Contents include a foreword by Lt. Col. Michael Kolb, Ph.D.

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). In E. De Visser, R. Pak & E. Rovira (Eds.) Living With Robots: Emerging Issues on the Psychological and Social Implications of Robotics. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
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. 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.