CFP: Waiting for Robot: Toward a Philosophy of Technological Failure – topical collection for Artificial Life (MIT Press)
This collection reorients philosophical and historical analysis of AI, robotics, and automation away from narratives of progress and success, placing failure at the center. The concept of Waiting For Robot describes a condition of persistent anticipation, in which the robot functions as much as a conceptual horizon as a concrete artifact. hashtag#Breakdowns, malfunctions, and unrealized projects are treated not as marginal outcomes but as generative epistemic events that expose hidden assumptions and drive conceptual change.
We welcome philosophical analyses, theoretical considerations, and historically grounded case studies on how failure shapes technoscientific knowledge.
Guest editors: Giulio Amore (Università degli Studi di Padova), Andrea Gentili (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg (Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg) / Università degli Studi di Padova), Marco Tamborini (Università Telematica Pegaso).
Abstract deadline: 10 January 2027
Acceptance notification: 31 January 2027
Full paper deadline: 15 June 2027
If interested, please send an abstract of approximately 500 words to the Guest Editors:
Giulio Amore — giulio.amore@phd.unipd.it„>giulio.amore@phd.unipd.it
Andrea Gentili — andrea.gentili.2@phd.unipd.it„>andrea.gentili.2@phd.unipd.it
Marco Tamborini — marco.tamborini@unipegaso.it„>marco.tamborini@unipegaso.it
