This article leverages existing literature around the use of telepresence robots to provide a conceptualisation of virtual inclusion. Telepresence involves the use of mediating technology to generate connection with others in a remote context. Recent developments have seen telepresence robots used to create a sense of 'being there' when the…

This conversation focuses on a book published in 1983 that examined "animism," the tendency to regard non-living entities as living and sentient. "The Intimate Machine" suggested that animism will be fully exploited by artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, generating artefacts that will engage the user in…

This study tests the effect of long-term artificial development of a robot on users' feelings of social presence and social responses toward the robot. The study is a 2 (developmental capability: developmental versus fully matured) x 2 (number of participants: individual versus group) between-subjects experiment (N = 40) in which participants…