Degrees of Freedom: On Robotics and Social Justice
Exploring why the field of robotics tends to reinforce white patriarchal systems of power—and how roboticists can work to change these systems.
In Degrees of Freedom, Tom Williams explores critical questions at the intersection of robotics and social justice. He considers the ways in which roboticists design their robots’ appearance, how robots think and act, how robots perceive people, and the domains into which robots are deployed. The book highlights not only the ways roboticists tend to reinforce white patriarchal power structures, but also how roboticists might instead subvert those power structures by applying theories and methods from a diverse range of fields.
Drawing on computer science; history and politics; law, criminology, and sociology; feminist, ethnic, and Black studies; literary and media studies; and social, moral, and cognitive psychology, the book connects questions of robot design with larger abolitionist movements by presenting a vision for a more socially just future of robotics.
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Praise for Degrees of Freedom
Dr. Ericka Johnson
"Working from within the belly of the beast, Williams offers insights from the humanities and social sciences, especially critical social theory, to imagine an equitable robotic future. True to an engineering ethos of ’doing better,’ this book both explores the foundational aspects of power that invisibly shape robot design and suggests how to build robots better suited for advancing social justice."
Dr. Nicki Washington
"Degrees of Freedom is a perfect example of how transgressing the boundaries of hegemonic computing epistemologies better informs our collective understanding of not only how societal oppressions are replicated or exacerbated by robotics but also why the eradication of these harms is necessary and possible for a more just society. It’s this transgression that makes this book a must-read for scholars, professionals, students, and activists whose work creates, examines, or uses robots."
(Anonymous Reviewer)
"...has the potential to become a foundational text in many robotics courses and research labs..."
(Anonymous Reviewer)
"...very timely and does a good job pulling together many examples of race and gender bias in applications of AI in recent years..."
(Anonymous Reviewer)
"...an engaging work with a compelling call to action for roboticists towards social justice. The topics covered may stimulate healthy discussion and it might also generate
some heated discussions..."