Federico de Luca

Agence internationale de l'énergie, University of Southampton

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About

Federico de Luca’s research sits at the intersection of robotics, digital media, and social theory, exploring how automated technologies reshape human life beyond the factory floor. His most-cited work, “Robot Shift from Industrial Production to Social Reproduction” (2015, 56 citations), offers a foundational critique of robotics’ transition from manufacturing into domestic and caregiving roles, arguing that this shift fundamentally alters social relations and labor dynamics. More recently, de Luca has pioneered the study of mass-market robotics through voice-based assistants (VBAs). His 2024 paper, “Mass robotics: How do people communicate with, use, and feel about Alexa? A cross-cultural, user perspective” (10 citations), breaks new ground by examining Alexa as the first robotic product consumed in natural, everyday environments. Drawing on diffusion and appropriation theories from digital media, this work provides rare comparative insights into how users across cultures interact with, rely upon, and emotionally respond to an always-on, AI-driven device. By bridging critical social theory with empirical user studies, de Luca illuminates the quiet, pervasive ways robotics is being woven into the fabric of daily life—a contribution that is as timely as it is thought-provoking.