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Robot as Embodied Agent? A Phenomenological Critique

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Software Engineering and Formal Methods. SEFM 2022 Collocated Workshops (SEFM 2022)

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Abstract

The problem of embodiment recurs several times in the contemporary debate in diverse disciplines, such as philosophy, neuroscience, and robotics. In particular, it is possible to define robots as (physical) embodied AI (Artificial Intelligence). From a philosophical point of view, this description opens a series of problems, such as: is the robotics embodiment comparable to the human one? In this paper, I will dig into this question by analyzing the robotics body compared with Embodied Cognition and the phenomenological tradition. Specifically, I will use the distinction between Körper and Leib as an epistemological pathway to dig into robotics. This essay wants to prove that the composite nature of the notion of the body, highlighted by phenomenology, is able to interpret the potentialities and limitations of robotics systems.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    the growing trend is also confirmed by the International Federation of Robotics (https://ifr.org/free-downloads).

  2. 2.

    Robot is defined as “(1)a machine equipped with sensing instruments for detecting input signals or environmental conditions, but with reacting or guidance mechanisms that can perform sensing, calculations, and so on, and with stored programs for resultant actions; for example, a machine running itself; (2) a mechanical unit that can be programmed to perform some task of manipulation or locomotion under automatic control” [10].

  3. 3.

    He defines the robots as “a smart machine that does routine, repetitive, hazardous mechanical tasks, or performs other operations either under direct human command and control or on its own, using a computer with embedded software (which contains previously loaded commands and instructions) or with an advanced level of machine (artificial) intelligence (which bases decisions and actions on data gathered by the robot about its current environment)” [11].

  4. 4.

    https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/definition-artificial-intelligence-main-capabilities-and-scientific-disciplines.

  5. 5.

    Ziemke identifies six notions of embodiment, 1. structural coupling, 2. historical embodiment, 3. physical embodiment, 4. organismoid embodiment, 5. organismic embodiment, and 6. social embodiment [20].

  6. 6.

    In this sense, it is possible to recognize the importance of”having a body” for robotics [13].

  7. 7.

    In 1998, Kerstin Dautenhahn affirms “Life and intelligence only develops inside a body” [18].

  8. 8.

    see also [19,20,21, 23].

  9. 9.

    Other researchers argue that “There is no known law of nature that forbids the existence of subjective feelings in artifacts designed or evolved by humans” [29].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Laura Corti

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  1. Laura Corti
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Correspondence to Laura Corti .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Aerospace, Hampton, VA, USA

    Paolo Masci

  2. University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Cinzia Bernardeschi

  3. University of Urbino, Urbino, Pesaro-Urbino, Italy

    Pierluigi Graziani

  4. Gesellschaft zur Förderung angewandter, Berlin, Germany

    Mario Koddenbrock

  5. University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

    Maurizio Palmieri

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Corti, L. (2023). Robot as Embodied Agent? A Phenomenological Critique. In: Masci, P., Bernardeschi, C., Graziani, P., Koddenbrock, M., Palmieri, M. (eds) Software Engineering and Formal Methods. SEFM 2022 Collocated Workshops. SEFM 2022. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 13765. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26236-4_25

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26236-4_25

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