Rapid advances in digital technologies have allowed robots to become more autonomous and efficacious than ever before. Future developments in robotics hold the potential to transform human robot interactions. We can expect to see robots performing a variety of functions in public spaces. Possibilities exist for robots to greatly improve the quality of our lives and to contribute positively to the safety, creative potential, and atmosphere of public spaces. But as this trend develops, the risk emerges of robots transforming public spaces and social interactions in undesirable ways. By reviewing previous public policy approaches to harnessing and regulating disruptive technology, we consider how public policy could simultaneously enhance opportunities created by the presence of robots in public spaces and reduce the risks of undesirable outcomes. We summarize key insights into a policy design checklist to guide policies on robots in public spaces. These insights cover (1) safety, (2) privacy and ethics, (3) productivity, (4) esthetics, (5) co-creation, (6) equitable access, and (7) systemic innovation.

The inability of global governments to meaningfully progress sustainable development over the past three decades is deeply concerning. AI is increasingly framed as a solution for achieving such outcomes, sometimes uncritically. We argue that: 1) for AI to improve public decision-making, the conditions and factors influencing public decisions must be better understood and considered; 2) to mainstream AI-enabled insights, transformations of those conditions and factors are necessary; and, 3) critical governance questions about those transformations must be addressed. To develop our arguments we draw on: original research identifying factors shaping public decision-making; ongoing interdisciplinary research exploring conditions that influence the use of AI for sustainable development policy; and, conceptual framings from literature concerned with transitions, earth system governance, leverage points and policy entrepreneurship - all sharing ambition to understand transformative change. In so doing, we seek to advance critical knowledge on the, potentially, transformative implications of AI in public decision-making.

People are increasingly encountering robots in public spaces. To increase the robustness of such in-the-wild robotic applications and to achieve their designed outcomes, existing research focuses on improving the technical reliability of robots and identifying effective strategies to prevent or recover from technical failures. However, in human-robot interaction (HRI), a user’s perception of a robot failure may not necessarily relate to technical issues. We focus on understanding users’ perception of robot behaviours and interactions within the context of a public space. In our exploratory study using a novel participatory design methodology, participants designed robot behaviours for applications in public spaces, and tested their design both in a simulator and on the physical robot. We investigate how participants’ perception and expectations change during this iterative participatory prototyping process, especially when the robot exhibits erratic or unexpected behaviours. Our work provides insights on users’ perception of robot failures, and how users’ design of robot behaviours shifts as they observe the robot within the spatial and social context.

The study of policy entrepreneurs as agents of change has developed greatly in recent years, supported by increasingly more sophisticated theoretical and empirical research. In this article, we first consider how the concept of the policy entrepreneur can be integrated into broader theories of the policy process, with particular focus on the compatibility of the concept with the narrative policy framework. We then propose that further empirical research on policy entrepreneurs focus on five tasks: (i) delimiting policy entrepreneurs as a distinct class of actor; (ii) investigating contextual factors that encourage the emergence of policy entrepreneurs; (iii) further specifying the strategies policy entrepreneurs deploy; (iv) improving the measurement of the impact policy entrepreneurs have in the policy process; and (v) identifying when policy entrepreneurs prompt widescale change. New theoretical and empirical contributions along these lines could do much to advance our understanding of agency and structure in contemporary politics.

Robots are increasingly being deployed in public spaces. However, the general population rarely has the opportunity to nominate what they would prefer or expect a robot to do in these contexts. Since most people have little or no experience interacting with a robot, it is not surprising that robots deployed in the real world may fail to gain acceptance or engage their intended users. To address this issue, we examine users' understanding of robots in public spaces and their expectations of appropriate uses of robots in these spaces. Furthermore, we investigate how these perceptions and expectations change as users engage and interact with a robot. To support this goal, we conducted a participatory design workshop in which participants were actively involved in the prototyping and testing of a robot's behaviours in simulation and on the physical robot. Our work highlights how social and interaction contexts influence users' perception of robots in public spaces and how users' design and understanding of what are appropriate robot behaviors shifts as they observe the enactment of their designs.

The United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) were ratified with much enthusiasm by all UN member states in 2015. However, subsequent progress to meet these goals has been hampered by a lack of data available to measure the SDG indicators (SDIs), and a lack of evidence-based insights to inform effective policy responses. We outline an interdisciplinary program of research into the use of artificial intelligence techniques to support measurement of the SDIs, using both machine learning methods to model SDI measurements and explainable AI techniques to present the outputs in a human-friendly manner. As well as addressing the technical concerns, we will investigate the governance issues of what forms of evidence, methods of collecting that evidence and means of its communication will most usefully inform effective policy development. By addressing these fundamental challenges, we aim to provide policy makers with the evidence needed to take effective action towards realising the Sustainable Development Goals.

The study of policy entrepreneurs as agents of change has developed greatly in recent years, supported by increasingly more sophisticated theoretical and empirical research. In this article, we first consider how the concept of the policy entrepreneur can be integrated into broader theories of the policy process, with particular focus on the compatibility of the concept with the narrative policy framework. We then propose that further empirical research on policy entrepreneurs focus on five tasks: (i) delimiting policy entrepreneurs as a distinct class of actor; (ii) investigating contextual factors that encourage the emergence of policy entrepreneurs; (iii) further specifying the strategies policy entrepreneurs deploy; (iv) improving the measurement of the impact policy entrepreneurs have in the policy process; and (v) identifying when policy entrepreneurs prompt widescale change. New theoretical and empirical contributions along these lines could do much to advance our understanding of agency and structure in contemporary politics.

People are increasingly encountering robots in public spaces, but they rarely have input into how such technology is conceived or deployed. To familiarise and engage the general public with new robot technology, we present a novel co-design workshop methodology with a three-phased structure: open discussion, participatory prototyping, and follow-up interviews. Open discussion collects users’ initial expectations; Participatory prototyping deepens users’ understanding of the technology and elicits concrete, user-centered discussion on the technology being investigated; and follow-up interviews collect personal reflections. An online workshop following this methodology facilitated our research on users’ expectations of robots in public spaces. Our observations highlighted that co-design workshops are effective for advancing users’ understanding of robotic technology and applications.

Policy entrepreneurs are energetic actors who engage in collaborative efforts in and around government to promote policy innovations. Given the enormous challenges now facing humanity, the need is great for such actors to step forward and catalyze change processes. Academic research on policy entrepreneurs has flourished over recent years and, as a result, we know a lot about what makes for effective policy entrepreneurship. This article summarizes that research and offers insights for those who aspire to be policy entrepreneurs. The work of policy entrepreneurs involves various strategies, including (1) problem framing, (2) using and expanding networks, (3) working with advocacy coalitions, (4) leading by example, and (5) scaling up change processes. These strategies call for sophisticated deployment of a range of attributes and skills enumerated here, many of which can be nurtured and taught.