Alexander Gerner

Instituto de Filosofía, Zurich University of the Arts

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Alexander Gerner’s research lies at the intersection of philosophy of technology, aesthetics, and social robotics, with a focus on how artificial beings reshape human identity and interaction. His major contribution is developing a nuanced framework for the “techno-social uncanny,” drawing on Hans Blumenberg’s metaphorology to analyze how technological others—from avatars to robots—provoke unease and fascination. In his 2020 paper “Towards the techno-social Uncanny” (3 citations), Gerner reframes Mori’s classic uncanny valley concept as a cultural and philosophical phenomenon, not merely a perceptual glitch. His edited volume *Actor & Avatar* (2023, 2 citations) further explores how we mirror ourselves in artificial beings, perform identity games, and negotiate presence across digital and physical realms. Though early in citation impact, Gerner’s work is notable for bridging continental philosophy with contemporary robotics, offering a critical lens on human-machine relations. His scholarship is essential reading for researchers in posthumanism, performance studies, and human-robot interaction, providing a sophisticated vocabulary for understanding our evolving entanglement with synthetic others.