Language and Robots: from Relations to Processes of Relations

The word „robot“ does not have a fixed meaning and human interactions with robots do not somehow bring it to the fore. Mark Coeckelbergh suggests as much when he presents linguistic interaction with robots as a process of becoming aware of a quasi-personal relation. A focus on material linguistic practices yields a very different story of shifting signifiers that are subject to human experiences of changing relations with robots. The material encounter with robots is prefigured by the cultural presence of robots in many stories from popular culture. These produce an anticipation of the human-like, quasi-personal qualities of robots and an initial willingness to embrace these. Over the course of time, however, and through linguistic encounters with robots, one rather learns that they are quite foreign and, finally, merely machines.  - This is one of six commentaries on a 2011-paper by Mark Coeckelbergh: “You, robot: on the linguistic construction of artificial others.” Coeckelbergh‘s response also appears in this issue of Technology and Language.