Towards human-robot co-agency: AI and feminist technoscience perspectives for diversity, demography, and democracy on human-robot-collaboration in architecture

The construction industry needs to urgently become more productive and sustainable. Automation is a common approach to increase efficiency. But this approach is challenged by a lack of qualified workers in the construction industry. This project at the intersection of architectural computing with social science addresses this challenge with a novel, AI-based method of human-robot collaboration that (1) replaces demands for human physical labor with demands for technical skills and that (2) engages workers by stimulating creativity and ensuring agency. Shifting from physical endurance to professional input and intellectual contributions opens construction to broader demographics that are otherwise excluded and allows them to contribute more meaningfully and with higher-value skills.

The project integrates perspectives from feminist technoscience—a transdisciplinary field offering distinct ways of thinking about societies, technologies, bodies, power, and environments—to develop a HRC method that attracts skilled staff and supports skills and decision-making while considering uncertainties inherent in construction. Specifically, the project uses methods from experimental democracy to ensure a fair and responsible development process for the HRC method that engages a diverse set of potential users.