Representing Robots in Popular Culture

Abstract

This chapter addresses the scientific and popular representation of robots as mutually influencing facets. On the one hand, designers, engineers, and pro- grammers shape robots based on their own representations and desired interactions. On the other hand, cultural agents introduce robots into society, creating new visions of humans and robots. Understanding the various representations accompanying ro- bots in contemporary societies is crucial, and socio-psychological, media, and cultural studies frameworks are used to analyze these representations. From this overall framework, this chapter presents fashion as a specific case where the promotion of androids contributes to shaping robot representations and their relationship with hu- mans. As robots become more prevalent in users’ lives, recognizing public representa- tions of robots as a crucial structural dimension of technology can provide stronger means to create robots and prepare them for public engagement and use.