Preparing for Human-Biohybrid Robot Interactions
Living machines 2024 conference – July 8th, 2024, Chicago
At Living Machines, the leading conference on biomimetics and biohybrid research, we presented a tutorial called Preparing for Human–Biohybrid Robot Interactions. The session focused on how researchers envision future interactions with biohybrid robots, and what constitutes a solid foundation for responsible innovation in the field.
Prior to the main event, we launched a pre-survey that shaped a session exploring how both experts and members of the public imagine biohybrid robots 50 years from now. This emphasised the importance of addressing ethical, social, and policy dimensions from the outset. We then reviewed the current state of the field and proposed a shared framework to facilitate discussion
Participants were divided into two groups: one explored the tissue-based robotics perspective, and the other focused on the animal–cyborg robotics perspective. Both groups engaged in speculative timeline activities, mapping potential future innovations and breakthroughs across six axes: technological, interactive use cases, social, political, ethical, and environmental.
To deepen the discussion, we introduced disruptor probes—speculative scenarios in which human–biohybrid robot interactions went awry—challenging participants to adapt their timelines in response. Finally, we synthesised the outcomes and compared the results from each group. Based on these results, we discussed which principles for responsible innovation are needed to guide the future development of human–biohybrid robot interactions.
Speculative Timeline For Tissue Based Robotics
