[Commlist] CFP: Panel "Artificial Others: Bridges or Barriers? Discursive Perspectives on Robots in polarised societies"

We would like to share the Call for proposals for our panel "Artificial 
Others: Bridges or Barriers? Discursive Perspectives on Robots in 
polarised societies" at the IPrA conference in Helsinki in June-July 2027.

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Panel Title: Artificial Others: Bridges or Barriers? Discursive 
Perspectives on Robots in polarised societies

20th International Pragmatics Conference, University of Helsinki, Finland

Conference dates: 27 June-2 July 2027

Abstract submission by 15 September 2026 to: (artificialothers /at/ proton.me)

Panel organisers: Emma Lupano, Bettina Mottura, Natalia Riva

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Bridges are not built only between people. They are also imagined 
through the figures, technologies, and social actors that societies 
create to negotiate difference. Among these figures, humanoid robots and 
biomimetic agents occupy a revealing position: they are simultaneously 
technological artefacts, cultural objects, and discursive constructions.

In a period marked by growing social and political polarisation, public 
discourse increasingly presents artificial agents as potential 
mediators, companions, assistants, or, conversely, as threats and 
sources of disruption. This panel examines discourse about robots rather 
than human–robot interaction itself, while recognising the close 
relationship between representations of artificial agents and the forms 
of interaction they make possible.

The panel explores how linguistic and multimodal resources contribute to 
the construction of robots as social actors and how these constructions 
shape understandings of otherness, agency, and social cohesion. We are 
particularly interested in the metaphors, narratives, evaluative 
practices, and stance-taking strategies through which humanoid and 
biomimetic robots are represented in different social, political, 
cultural, and linguistic contexts. While the panel is not inherently 
contrastive, it encourages contributions that can help shed light on 
local, national or international discursive trends on the subject.

Possible topics of research include (but are not limited to):

> the institutional, corporate, and policy discourses that formulate 
promises, expectations, or warnings concerning robots in social domains;

> the ethical debates surrounding the deployment of robots in contexts 
such as education, healthcare, social management, justice, political 
dialogue, and military activities;

> the discursive representations of biomimetic robots and the ways they 
blur or reinforce categorical boundaries between humans, animals, 
plants, and machines.

We welcome established as well as innovative analytical approaches 
including metaphor analysis, critical discourse studies, conversation 
analysis, corpus pragmatics, historical pragmatics, and related 
frameworks, in order to shed light on:

> narratives that portray robots as agents of conflict resolution, 
reconciliation, or social integration, as well as discourses that 
challenge or resist such visions;

> metaphors and figurative framings of robots as bridges, mediators, 
servants, threats, or mirrors of the human, and their variation across 
languages and cultures;

> epistemic markers, evaluative language, and other pragmatic resources 
that contribute to attribution or denial of intentionality, emotions, 
and agency;

> discursive strategies such as humour and irony that either humanise 
or delegitimise artificial agents.

By bringing together pragmatics, discourse analysis, human–robot 
interaction, and science and technology studies, the panel aims to 
advance understanding of how discourse about artificial beings may 
contribute to either reinforcing or reconfiguring contemporary social 
divides.

Please send a short bio of max. 150 words and an abstract of min. 
250-max. 500 words with 5 key bibliographical sources to 
(artificialothers /at/ proton.me).

Abstract submission deadline: 15 September 2026.

Acceptance notifications will be sent out by the end of September 2026.

The panel is part of the 20th International Pragmatics Conference to be 
held at the University of Helsinki, Finland, from 27 June to 2 July 
2027. For further information, please check the Conference link: 
https://pragmatics.international/page/IPC20

Please note that the conference will be held only in person. Travel and 
accommodation expenses are to be covered by the participants.


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