# Theory of Robot Communication: I. The Medium is the Communication Partner

## TL;DR

This paper examines how existing Computer-Mediated Communication theories apply to interactions with autonomous robots, proposing an extension to account for robots acting as communication partners in social contexts.

## Contribution

It introduces the idea that CMC theories need to be expanded to include robots as autonomous communication media and partners.

## Key findings

- Existing CMC theories largely hold for remote-controlled robots
- Autonomous robots as communication partners require theoretical extension
- Proposes a framework for future CMC theory involving social robots

## Abstract

When people use electronic media for their communication, Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) theories describe the social and communicative aspects of people's interpersonal transactions. When people interact via a remote-controlled robot, many of the CMC theses hold. Yet, what if people communicate with a conversation robot that is (partly) autonomous? Do the same theories apply? This paper discusses CMC theories in confrontation with observations and research data gained from human-robot communication. As a result, I argue for an addition to CMC theorizing when the robot as a medium itself becomes the communication partner. In view of the rise of social robots in coming years, I define the theoretical precepts of a possible next step in CMC, which I elaborate in a second paper.

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/1812.04408