Pluralistic Human-Robot Interaction: Designing for Robot Interaction with Diverse Communities

Current Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) research, while focusing on natural communication and engagement, does not fully address the social complexities of real-world robot deployment with diverse users. A new framework, 'Pluralistic HRI,' is proposed to address this by treating human diversity as a fundamental design concern, integrating principles such as civic dialogue, empathy, and cultural humility to guide inclusive and ethically sound robot interactions.

Why it matters

The increasing deployment of social robots into diverse real-world environments necessitates a fundamental shift in design philosophy. Adopting a Pluralistic HRI approach ensures that technological advancements are not only functional but also socially robust, ethically sound, and widely accepted across varied user groups, mitigating potential social friction and enhancing long-term societal integration of robotics.

Key insights

• Existing Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) research emphasizes natural communication, engagement, personalization, and task success but overlooks the social complexity of diverse user environments.
• Social robots are increasingly deployed in diverse settings like homes and schools, necessitating a more inclusive design approach.
• The proposed 'Pluralistic HRI' framework aims to address human diversity as a foundational element in robot design.
• Key components of Pluralistic HRI include pluralism, civic dialogue, perspective-taking, empathy, intercultural competence, cultural humility, and moral imagination.
• This framework seeks to inform the design of social robots to be inclusive, adaptive, and ethically grounded in interactions with diverse communities.

Source

arXiv — Computers and Society — https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.16049