Peer Review Review

The limits of the peer review process

The peer review process is essential to modern science. Researchers conduct studies and submit their results to a journal. An editor manages a review process involving external experts. But what happens when you study the peer review process itself? How do scientific organisations react when they become the subject of an experiment? Not well, to say the least.

This live recording is from the Nerd Night at the Little Andromeda Theatre in Christchuch, New Zealand.

Transcript

The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript.

ISSN 2703-4054

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Should you use chatGPT?

Should you use chatGPT for podcasting? I asked chatGPT this question and used Descript’s Overdub feature to voice the response. Generating this episode was quicker than any other I ever created. Is it any good? Probably not. Still, it shows how quickly it is possible to generate superficial content. This might be useful for enabling robots to have superficial conversations with people. Just don’t expect any originality or accuracy.

Transcript

The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript.

HRI-Podcast-Episode-026-Should-I-Use-ChatGPT

ISSN 2703-4054

The HRI Journal Publishing Guide

Publishing your human-robot interaction study in a journal is an excellent way to share your insights. But in which journal should you publish and what do the journals expect? In this episode, we talk to editors from the three dedicated HRI journals, Agnieszka Wykowska (International Journal of Social Robotics), Selma Sabanovic (ACM Transactions on Human-Robot Interaction) and Bilge Mutlu (Frontiers in Robotics and AI | Human-Robot Interaction). We talk about Open Access publishing and what the future of scientific publishing might look like. Besides the three dedicated journals, there are also some journals that encourage HRI topics without focusing completely on them. I talked with Kerstin Dautenhahn from the Interaction Studies journal and Ramanarayan Vasudevan from the IEEE Transactions on Robotics.

Transcript

The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript.

HRI-Podcast-Episode-025-The-HRI-Journal-Publishing-Guide

Here is a table with all the key indicators for the journals. The full table is available online.

NameIEEE TROIJO Social RoboticsInteraction StudiesFrontiers in Robotics and AI HRIACM THRI
PublisherIEEESpringerJohn BenjaminsFrontiersACM
Founded in19852009200420182012
Acceptance rate20364867
Average papers are published per year183113222252
Average number of revisions for accepted papers2.5222
Average number of reviewers per submitted paper322.533
Number of associate editors7253271144
Average duration of peer review9023125123107
Peer review typeSingle blindSingle blindSingle blindSingle blindSingle blind
Average duration publishing process60310147270
Listed in ScopusYesYesYesYesYes
Publications quartile in Scopusnot availableQ1Q1Q2not available
CiteScore12.76.93.74.95.3
Listed on Web of ScienceYesYesYesYesNo
Impact Factor7.84.71.53.45.1
Ppen access optionYes (optional)Yes (optional)Yes (optional)Yes (required)Yes (required)
Article Publication Fee2345369019272125$0 required, $1300 optional
Pre-publication allowedYesYesYesYesYes

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Aldebaran Again

Is this the end of Pepper?

Softbank Robotics sold their Nao and Pepper robots to the United Robotics Group (URG) which reversed the name of this business back to its orginal “Aldebaran”. In this episode Dwain Allan and I discuss the uncertain future of Nao and Pepper based on direct correspondence with URG. We try to answer the question whether you should still invest in this robotic platform. Is Aldebaran another zombie robotic company?

Transcript

The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF.

HRI-Podcast-Episode-024-Aldebaran-Again-Transcript

ISSN 2703-4054

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Zombies

Can robots be conscious?

Are robots zombies? This might seem like a strange question at first, but it leads to one of the most important questions in science today: what is consciousness and can robot’s become conscious? These questions fascinate many people. And when Blake Lemoine suggested that Google’s latest AI Lambda had become sentient, it triggered a worldwide media frenzy. In this HRI podcast episode, I talk with Professor Jack Copeland about machine consciousness.

Transcript

The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript

HRI-Podcast-Episode-023-Zombies-Transcript

ISSN 2703-4054

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Autonomous Vehicles – Do We Really Know The Risks?

We need objective safety data

Autonomous Vehicles (AV) are the riskiest form of human-robot interaction. One the one hand they offer unparalleled improvements to the safety and comfort of drivers, passengers and other traffic participants. They also promise to reduce emission. On the other hand, they demand new considerations for trust and responsibilities in human-robot interaction. The field of tension between autonomy, trust and liability can only be manoeuvred on the basis of objective data. Government agencies will have to implement clear obligations and standards for reporting the performances of AVs. This is the only way for consumers to make informed decisions about their purchases and the associated risks. In this podcast episode we will critically review the available data, the market situation and the recent developments.

Transcript

The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript. A full paper with references is available.

HRI-Podcast-Episode-022-Autonomous-Vehicles-Do-We-Really-Know-The-Risks

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Emotions And Consciousness In Robots

The full interview with Douglas Campbell

In the last HRI podcast episode we talked about the role of emotions for humans and robots. The interview with Douglas Campbell truly inspired me and there was not enough time in the last episode to go into the full depth of our conversation. So here it is, our full discussion about emotions and consciousness in robots.

Transcript

The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript.

HRI-Podcast-Episode-021-Emotions-And-Consciousness-In-Robots-Transcript

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The Sad Robot

Do robots need emotions?

What roles do emotions, affect and moods play for humans and robots? We will discuss how robots can sense, reason and express emotions. Furthermore, we talk about if emotions make robots more human. I had the pleasure to talk with Rosalind Picard (MIT), Lola Canamero (CY Cergy Paris University), Hiroshi Ishiguro (Osaka University) and Douglas Campbell (University of Canterbury) about these exciting questions.

Transcript

The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript.

HRI-Podcast-Episode-020-The-Sad-Robot-Transcript

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The Story Of Boston Dynamics

From military robots to beer commercials.

Boston Dynamics is the rock star of robotics. It recently featured in a beer commercial during the Super Bowl. How did a company that started as a military contractor become a novelty in beer commercials? Dwain Allan and Christoph Bartneck discuss the past, present and future of the company with Robert Cheek and Stephen Hickson.

Transcript

The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript.

HRI-Podcast-Episode-019-The-Story-Of-Boston-Dynamics-Transcript

ISSN 2703-4054

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The Science Beyond the Horizon

How do predatory conferences work?

Predatory conferences have become a global problem that plagues the scientific community. The Science Horizon Conferences claims to organize ten conference in 2022 in Europe, including the International Conference and Expo on Robotics & Artificial Intelligence. In this podcast episode I investigate this conference and its organizers Shaik Riyaz and Devasai Udarapu. My nonsensical abstract submission passed their peer review process and was accepted for a keynote presentation. I confronted Devasai with this complete lack of academic rigor in an interview. Anton Angelo and David Kaye share their view on this conference, predatory conferences in general and what impact they have on the scientific endeavour.

Transcript

The transcript of the episode is available as a PDF. You can also follow the episode with subtitles through Descript.

HRI-Podcast-Episode-018-The-Science-Beyond-The-Horizon-Transript

ISSN 2703-4054

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