ROBOPHILOSOPHY

February 20, 2026February 20, 2026

ACI 2026 Calls for Submissions

The Animal-Computer Interaction International Conference 2026 (ACI 2026) invites contributions for its thirteenth edition. The conference seeks theoretical, methodological, empirical, and ethical work that advances dialogue around animal-centered research and the design of computing-enabled systems. ACI brings together perspectives from computer science, informatics, engineering, interaction design, animal behavior and welfare science, veterinary science, ecology, sociology, philosophy, and related disciplines, with the aim of further developing Animal-Computer Interaction as a field. In an increasingly networked world shaped by pervasive technologies, animals – both human and nonhuman – are entangled in complex webs of interaction. These interactions may be direct or indirect, physical or cognitive, distributed or dyadic, synchronous or asynchronous. Contributions are encouraged that critically examine how technology shapes human-animal relationships, how large-scale technological deployments affect animals, and how future systems can be designed responsibly and ethically. The conference also welcomes submissions in Animal-Machine Interaction (AMI), which explores interaction and communication between animals and machines, including autonomous systems such as drones and robots. AMI focuses on designing machines that benefit animals and safeguard their interests, supporting survival and well-being. Research Papers and Emerging Work Papers are due May 1, 2026, and Workshop Proposals are due June 1, 2026. All submissions will be peer-reviewed. Further information is available at www.aciconf.org, and submission details can be found at www.aciconf.org/call-for-contributions.

February 20, 2026February 20, 2026

The ECHO Project has Come to an End

The project “ECHO: Explaining Composition, Harmony & Orchestration” was initiated by Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel and implemented by Lucas Chingis Marty. The final presentation took place on February 19, 2026, at the FHNW Campus Brugg-Windisch. The bachelor’s thesis “ECHO: Explaining Composition, Harmony & Orchestration – A Multimodal AI System for Music Analysis and Education” develops a local multimodal AI system for the analysis and accessible explanation of musical structures based on audio data. The objective is to bridge the gap between music information retrieval (MIR, an automatic audio analysis) and natural language explanation through large language models. The system combines multiple analysis components (tempo, key, chord, instrument, and melody recognition) with a locally operated language model (Llama 3.1-8B) that translates the extracted data into understandable explanations for beginners and intermediate users. Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), guardrails to reduce hallucinations, and a feedback and evaluation system are employed as part of the approach. The implementation is realized as a desktop application without cloud dependency. The evaluation includes technical measurements on datasets comprising several hundred music tracks as well as a small user study. The thesis demonstrates that a locally operated system can in principle present musical analysis in an understandable way, although clear accuracy limitations of the applied MIR methods remain. Opportunities could open up not only for music education, but also for the preservation of endangered music.

February 15, 2026March 2, 2026

Deadlines Extended for ICSR + Art 2026

The 18th International Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR + Art 2026) will take place in London, UK, from 1-4 July 2026. ICSR is the leading international forum that brings together researchers, academics, and industry professionals from across disciplines to advance the field of social robotics. For its 18th edition, the conference will present the special theme ICSR + Art, highlighting how robots can move beyond their conventional roles to become tools, partners, and co-creators within artistic and creative practices. At the same time, the conference remains open to the full breadth of social robotics research, including human-robot interaction, medical and assistive robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, ethics, design, education, and cultural applications. Accepted papers will be published in Springer’s Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence (LNAI) series and indexed in major academic databases. The conference programme will encompass regular papers, short papers, special sessions, a design and art competition, debates, the Robot Fringe live performance strand, and an Industry Day dedicated to emerging robotics and technology companies. Regular Papers for the main track must follow the submission guidelines provided on the conference website and be submitted via the Springer Meteor system by 6 March 2026. Contributions to Special Sessions should likewise follow the Regular Paper instructions and be submitted to the respective session. Short Papers must comply with the specific Short Paper guidelines and be submitted accordingly. The ICSR Design / Art Competition, proposals for debates, and submissions for the Robot Fringe live robotic performance programme are due by 15 March 2026. Early-stage robotics and technology companies wishing to showcase their work at the Industry Day may apply until 15 May 2026. Further details, submission instructions, and relevant links are available at icsr2026.uk.

January 25, 2026January 25, 2026

The First Lunar Hotel

The U.S.-based company GRU Space describes on its website a project called GRU (Galactic Resource Utilization), which aims to establish a series of permanent structures on the Moon. The planned centerpiece of the initiative is a hotel, the “First Lunar Hotel”. The project does not present itself as conventional space tourism – likely also to avoid related criticism – but rather as an early phase of a long-term human presence beyond Earth. GRU targets a small group of participants who are willing to become involved in the construction process at an early stage. The process begins with an application procedure that requires a non-refundable fee. If accepted into the program, a substantial deposit is required, which will later be credited toward the total cost. Final pricing has not yet been set but is expected to exceed 10 million U.S. dollars. In addition, medical, personal, and financial screenings are planned. Applications are to be reviewed starting in 2026, with an initial lunar mission for technical preparation scheduled for 2029. From 2031 onward, habitats such as the Lunar Cave Base are to be installed and training activities are to begin. Subsequently, the first hotel on the Moon is expected to begin operations – according to the timeline on the website, as early as 2032. In illustrations, the structure oscillates between ancient temples, Palladian villas, and Swiss grand hotels as imagined by American politicians. Whether the project will materialize remains uncertain, not only because of the high upfront payment required, but also due to the technical challenges and environmental implications. Further information is available at www.gru.space/reserve (Image: Lunar Cave Base, based on an illustration by GRU Space, generated with GPT Image).

January 23, 2026January 23, 2026

Quo Vadis, CYBATHLON?

Ten years ago, the CYBATHLON was held for the first time. It marked the beginning of a fascinating and inspiring project centered on inclusive AI and inclusive robotics. The competition – bringing together people with disabilities and impairments to compete with and against one another – was founded by Prof. Dr. Robert Riener of ETH Zurich. At the 2016 CYBATHLON, SRF host Tobias Müller spoke five times with Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel, a technology philosopher from Zurich, who provided context and evaluation regarding the use of implants, prosthetics, and robots. On one occasion, Prof. Dr. Lino Guzzella, then President of ETH Zurich, also took part; on another, Robert Riener joined the discussion. The most recent edition of the CYBATHLON took place in 2024. A total of 67 teams from 24 nations competed across eight disciplines at the SWISS Arena in Kloten near Zurich, as well as at seven interconnected hubs in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Hungary, Thailand, and South Korea. The website currently states: “While CYBATHLON’s journey at ETH Zürich ends here, the story is far from over. The next edition of the event may take place in Asia in 2028, marking an exciting new chapter for this unique global competition.” (CYBATHLON website) This would allow a success story to continue – once again not in Europe, but in Asia (Photo: ETH Zürich, CYBATHLON/Alessandro della Bella).

January 14, 2026January 14, 2026

Inclusive AI and Inclusive Robotics are Highly Valued

At CES 2026, some of the most compelling examples of Inclusive AI and Inclusive Robotics came not from consumer gadgets, but from European assistive technologies designed to expand human autonomy. This was reported by FAZ and other media outlets in January 2026. These innovations show how AI-driven perception and robotics can be centered on accessibility – and still scale beyond niche use cases. Romanian startup Dotlumen exemplifies Inclusive AI through its “.lumen Glasses for the Blind,” a wearable system that replaces a guide dog with real-time, on-device intelligence. Using multiple cameras, sensors, and GPU-based computer vision, the glasses interpret sidewalks, obstacles, and spatial structures and translate them into intuitive haptic signals. The company calls this approach “Pedestrian Autonomous Driving” – a concept that directly bridges human navigation and mobile robotics. Notably, the same algorithms are now being adapted for autonomous delivery robots, underscoring the overlap between assistive AI and broader robotic autonomy. A complementary approach comes from France-based Artha (Seehaptic), whose haptic belt uses AI-powered scene understanding to convert visual space into tactile feedback. By shifting navigation cues from sound to touch, the system reduces cognitive load and leverages sensory substitution – an inclusive design principle with implications for human-machine interfaces in robotics. Together, these technologies illustrate a European model of Inclusive AI: privacy-preserving, embodied, and focused on real-world autonomy. What begins as assistive tech increasingly becomes a foundation for the next generation of intelligent, human-centered robotics (Photo: ETH Zürich, CYBATHLON/Alessandro della Bella).

January 9, 2026January 14, 2026

SETI Instead of METI

As part of the ToBIT event series at the FHNW School of Business, four students of Prof. Dr. Oliver Bendel explored four topics related to his field of research during the Fall 2025/2026 semester: “The decoding of symbolic languages of animals”, “The decoding of animal body language”, “The decoding of animal facial expressions and behavior”, and “The decoding of extraterrestrial languages”. The students presented their papers on January 9, 2026. In some cases, the state of research was not only reviewed, but an independent position was also developed. The paper “The decoding of extraterrestrial languages” by Ilija Bralic argues that Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI), in contrast to passive SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), creates a dangerous imbalance between humanity’s rapidly expanding technical capacity to send interstellar messages and its limited ethical, scientific, and political ability to govern this power responsibly. The central thesis is that the moral justifications for METI are speculative and anthropocentric, relying largely on optimistic assumptions about extraterrestrial behavior, while the potential risks are severe, logically grounded, and potentially existential. These risks include fundamental misinterpretation caused by the “human lens,” strategic dangers described by the Dark Forest hypothesis, historical patterns of harm in technologically asymmetric encounters, and profound cultural, psychological, and political disruption. The paper concludes that unilateral METI decisions by individuals or private groups are ethically indefensible and that, under the Precautionary Principle, humanity should immediately halt active transmissions. As a solution, it proposes a binding international governance framework, including a temporary global moratorium, the creation of a dedicated international authority, a strict multi-stage decision-making protocol, and robust transparency and monitoring mechanisms. This approach frames responsible restraint – not transmission – as humanity’s first genuine test of cosmic maturity.

January 6, 2026January 6, 2026

AI and Human Creativity

As part of the AAAI Spring Symposia, the symposium “Will AI Light Up Human Creativity or Replace It?: Toward Well-Being AI for co-evolving human and machine intelligence” focuses on how advances in generative AI, large language models, and multi-agent systems are transforming human creativity and decision-making. It addresses the central question of whether AI will amplify human potential or increasingly take its place. The symposium advances the idea of Well-Being AI, emphasizing human-AI collaboration and co-evolution rather than AI as an isolated or autonomous system. While highlighting the potential of AI to support creativity, discovery, and personal development, it also examines risks such as overreliance, reduced diversity of thought, and loss of human autonomy. Chaired by Takashi Kido (see photo) of Teikyo University and Keiki Takadama of The University of Tokyo, the symposium brings together researchers and practitioners from technical, philosophical, and social disciplines to discuss principles and frameworks for AI that augments rather than replaces human creativity. Further information on this symposium and the broader AAAI Spring Symposia organized by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence can be found at https://aaai.org/conference/spring-symposia/sss26/ and webpark2506.sakura.ne.jp/aaai/sss26-will-ai-light-up-human-creativity-or-replace-it/.