Get to know our fellows: Andrei Korbut
Get to know our current fellows and gain an impression of their research.
In a new series of short interviews, we asked them to introduce themselves, talk about their work at c:o/re, the impact of their research on society and give book recommendations.
1. Please introduce yourself.
I’m Andrei Korbut. I’m a sociologist studying human-computer interaction.
2. What is your research about?
My research is about how a particular kind of humanoid robot — it’s called Pepper — has become a popular research tool in robotics labs around the world.
I want to understand what properties of the robot make it useful for studying human-robot interaction, and how it is embedded in and helps to produce the configurations of epistemic practices, industrial interests, and academic politics specific to the field of robotics. To do this, I am tracing Pepper’s career from the production line to publication in an academic journal.
3. How do you see your research impact society?
I see the impact of my research as twofold. First, I hope that the results will influence policy decisions about science. There is a lot of talk about AI regulation nowadays, and as robotics is closely related to AI (although they are different fields), policymakers need more real-world knowledge about how robotics is organised to make their decisions more knowledge-based. And second, it would be great if my research could make humanoid robots less “opaque” to ordinary people. There is a lot of hype around humanoid robots today, based on developers’ desire to make them look more capable and autonomous than they really are. I think my research can show that these machines are not something supernatural and approaching humans in their abilities, but only exist because the large amount of human labour and knowledge is constantly embedded in them.
4. What does a research day at c:o/re look like for you?
I would even say that there is not one day, but two different days at c:o/re. The first is very quiet: I just go into the office and work at my desk, making notes, analysing data, reading, with some breaks for food and occasional conversations with colleagues. The second is more lively, full of discussions, meeting new people, and visiting very exciting places like real labs at RWTH. I like both days equally because they are beneficial for my research, although in different ways.
5. What does Cultures of Research mean to you?
For me c:o/re is a community of very talented and interested people where I can freely discuss my findings and plans and get new insights after each of such discussions. Small group of scholars working in the same field, as in c:o/re, is an excellent habitat for nourishing your ideas.
6. What book have you read recently that you would recommend?
It is a book not from my main area of interest, but I really enjoyed it. (I find it important to read outside my field from time to time.) It’s Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World by Marcia Bjornerud. This is a fascinating introduction to the way geologists think of time, providing some basic knowledge about the history of the discipline and the structure and evolution of the Earth. More importantly for me, the book teaches how to see the traces of time in the objects around us. The book is aimed at people like me who are not very familiar with geology, so I found it really interesting, not least because Bjornerud presents geology through her own personal experience as a field researcher. Also, the illustrations by Haley Hagerman are masterful.
Objects of Research: Ana María Guzmán
Today we proceed our “Objects of Research” series with a picture by c:o/re research associate and events coordinator Ana María Guzmán, whose dissertation “Within Nature: Hegel’s Local Determination of Thought” deals with the conditions for the intelligibility of nature within Hegel’s Logic and Philosophy of Nature.
“As I research Hegel’s logic and how he understands life as a logical category necessary to make nature intelligible, I work closely with his texts. On the other hand, the stickers on my laptop remind me of the need to look at reality and regularly question the relevance of my research for understanding current social phenomena. In this sense, I think I remain a Hegelian, because for Hegel one can only fully understand an object of research by looking at both its logical concept and how it appears in reality. However, I think that in order to look at current political and social phenomena, we need to go beyond Hegel’s racist and sexist ideas, which are all around his ideas on social organization. And none of this would be possible without a good cup of coffee and/or a club mate!”
Would you like to find out more about our Objects of Research series at c:o/re? Then take a look at the pictures by Benjamin Peters, Andoni Ibarra, Hadeel Naeem, Alin Olteanu and Hans Ekkehard Plesser.
Peter Mantello
c:o/re short-term Senior Fellow (11/02 − 17/02/2024)
Peter Mantello is an artist, filmmaker and Professor of Media Studies at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan. Since 2010, he has been a principal investigator on various research projects examining the intersection between emerging media technologies, social media artifacts, artificially intelligent agents, hyperconsumerism and conflict. His recent research focuses on interdisciplinary inquiries into phenomenological aspects of human-machine relations, especially, those related to emotional AI. He is also working on a feature film that deals with social, political, and cultural concerns surrounding the rise of emotional AI on six continents.
A Comparison of Views on Emotional AI in Japan and Germany
This research project examines the impact of emotional AI (EAI) in the Japanese and German workplace (on-site, hybrid, gig, and platform), to understand how to create ethical, human-centric, and dignity-enhancing forms of work practices and governance. Employing a mixed methods approach involving interviews, surveys, and innovative design-fiction and policy workshops, the project has five main goals. First, to understand the determinants of technological trust and risk perception of workers toward a new technologically mediated work situation. Second, to cultivate a nuanced understanding of the importance of cultural diversity in AI ethics by exploring the epistemological and ontological dimensions of emotion-sensing technologies. Third, to flesh out potential best practices so that these systems support rather than exploit workers. Fourth, to enable cross-cultural knowledge exchange (Japan/German) between academics and stakeholders. Fifth, to mentor the next generation of Early Career Researchers into leadership roles pertaining to AI ethics and the emerging world of emotion-recognition technologies.
Publications (selection)
Mantello, Peter, Ho MT, Nguyen, M. & Vuong, Q. 2023. Machines that feel: Behavioral determinants of attitude towards affect recognition technology—Upgrading technology acceptance theory with the mindsponge model. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10(1), 1-16. Nature.com https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-01837-1
Mantello, Peter, Ho MT. 2023. Emotional AI and the Future of Wellbeing in the Post-Pandemic Workplace, AI and Society, Springer Nature. DOI: 0.1007/s00146-023-01639-8.
Mantello, Peter, Ho MT, Podoletz, L. 2023. ‘Automating Extremism: Mapping The Affective Role of Artificially Intelligent Agents in Online Radicalisation’ in E.Pashentsev’s, The Palgrave Handbook of Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence, Palgrave McMillan. ISBN: 9783031225512
Mantello, Peter, Manh, T. Vuong.Q. 2021. Bosses without a Heart: A Bayesian analysis of socio-demographic and cross-cultural determinants of attitude toward the Automated Management, AI & Society. Springer Nature. DOI: 10.1007/s00146-021-01290-1.
Mantello, Peter. 2021. Fatal Portraits: The Selfie as Agent of Radicalization, Sign Systems Studies, Tartu University Press, 2021 https://doi.org/10.12697/SSS.2021.49.3-4.16
Listening to Science – Live Performance by Valentina Vuksic
Making digital data work audible and tangible – this is the focus of the artistic research project “Computersignals. Art and Biology in the Age of Digital Experimentation” under the direction of Prof. Hannes Rickli at the Zurich University of the Arts.
On Friday, 16 February 2024 at 7:30 pm at the Käte Hamburger Kolleg: Cultures of Research (c:o/re), Valentina Vuksic, transdisciplinary employee in the research project, will present artistic formats that are based on direct audifications of computer processes and – even without this context – can be performed as musical works.
The sound recordings (electromagnetic fields, current fluctuations and mechanical vibrations) originate from research equipment in biology laboratories of Hans Hofmann at the University of Texas at Austin and the underwater observatory RemOs of the climate impact research by Philipp Fischer (Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research) in Kongfjorden in Spitsbergen, which are stored as audio files and merely reassembled. The performance reflects the materiality of digital data production and processing in the processes of gaining scientific knowledge and operates at the interface between art and scientific research.
You are cordially invited to register at events@khk.rwth-aachen.de.
Objects of Research: Hans Ekkehard Plesser
For this post in our „Objects of Research“ series, we interviewed c:o/re Senior Fellow Hans Ekkehard Plesser, whose work focuses on simulation technology for large-scale neuronal network simulations and reproducibility of research in computational neuroscience.
“For the past two decades, I have had a leading role in developing the neuronal network simulator NEST. This high-quality research software can improve research culture by providing a foundation for reliable, reproducible and FAIRly sharable research in computational neuroscience. Together with colleagues, I work hard to establish “nest::simulated()” as a mark of quality for research results in the field. Collaboration in the NEST community is essential to this effort, and many great ideas have come up while sharing a cup of coffee.“
Would you like to find out more about our Objects of Research series at c:o/re? Then take a look at the pictures by Benjamin Peters, Andoni Ibarra, Hadeel Naeem and Alin Olteanu.
Unfelt Treshold: Art Installation & Conversation on Fluctonomous Emergence
Unfelt Threshold is a project in which Japanese artist Aoi Suwa is indirectly linking together various pieces of objects and images, exhibiting the creations that she has produced over the years. As part of the project, c:o/re Senior Fellow Masahiko Hara and Aoi Suwa will stage a live installation at RWTH Aachen University’s Käte Hamburger Kolleg: Cultures of Research (c:o/re) and engage in a conversation on “Fluctonomous Emergence”, a term coined by Masahiko Hara. His research focuses on the integration of art strategies in science and technology and introduces a new concept of natural intelligence based on the emergent functions of autonomous ambiguous systems that exhibit fluctuant behavior.
This project stems from the concept of “shiki-ik” (識閾, the threshold of consciousness), the boundary where sensations and reactions occur in response to stimuli. The threshold through which transitions occur from the unconscious to the conscious, and vice versa, is the gateway of shifting between consciousness and unconsciousness.
Aoi Suwa continues to employ experimental techniques to create works focused on phenomena that can only be witnessed in situ, developing what could be described as an approach aimed at perceiving thresholds that emerge through the process of traversing back and forth between the realms of the perceivable/imperceivable and conscious/unconscious.
Through this project, we would like to explore its potential as a means of expressing the complexity and the lifelikeness of our current age and seek to reconsider our sustainable social systems surrounded by both living and non-living systems.
The installation can be viewed until 22 February 2024 by prior registration with events@khk.rwth-aachen.de.
Get to know our fellows: Nikita Braguinski
Get to know our current fellows and gain an impression of their research.
In a new series of short videos, we asked them to introduce themselves, talk about their work at c:o/re, the impact of their research on society and give book recommendations.
You can now watch the fourth video of the music and media scientist Dr. Nikita Braguinski on our Youtube channel:
Check out our Media section or our YouTube channel to have a look at the other videos.
Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship for Giora Hon
c:o/re short term fellow Prof. Dr. Giora Hon has been awarded with an Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship (Renewed Research Stay) for the period from 1 January to 31 March 2024, which gives him the opportunity to continue working on his research while staying in the research environment of c:o/re in Aachen.
During the fellowship, Giora Hon will work on his project entitled “A History of the Concept of Model”: How were models, designed as didactic devices, transformed into tools of research? A philosophical analysis of this fundamental change in the late nineteenth century will be the focus of this research stay.
We congratulate Giora on the fellowship and look forward to further cooperation, for example the organization of a workshop on concept formation in May 2024. Stay tuned!
Objects of Research: Alin Olteanu
Today, c:o/re post-doc and publications coordinator Alin Olteanu shares a picture of an object sitting on his desk in the c:o/re office. He is currently researching the social and cultural consequences of digitalization.
“The 3D replica of my teeth that stands on my desk reminds me of two important things. First, a model is what we make of it. The epistemic value of modelling lies in interpretation, which depends on but is not defined by representation. I make something very different of (a replica of) teeth than a dentist and an archaeologist do.
Secondly, and not any less important, this replica reminds me to smile, and I hope that it might inspire colleagues to smile, too, when they see it on my desk.
To tell a smile from a veil, as Pink Floyd ask us to, we need to know that a smile is infinitely more important than scientific modelling. If scientific modelling does not lead to smiling, it is of no value. A smile is a good metonymy to be reminded by.”
Would you like to find out more about our Objects of Research series at c:o/re? Then take a look at the pictures by Benjamin Peters, Andoni Ibarra and Hadeel Naeem.
Get to know our fellows: Hadeel Naeem
Get to know our current fellows and gain an impression of their research.
In a new series of short videos, we asked them to introduce themselves, talk about their work at c:o/re, the impact of their research on society and give book recommendations.
You can now watch the third video of the philosopher Hadeel Naeem on our Youtube channel:
