How Could Social Robots Support Societal Participation? Findings from Five Design Workshops with Young People

Societal participation encompasses individual and collaborative activities aimed at influencing decisions that affect a person’s life. Engaging young people in societal participation is important for democratic and sustainable societies, but various structural and psychological barriers hinder participation. Digital technologies show promise in lowering the barriers by providing young people with new channels and means to participate. However, such technologies must be co-designed with youth to ensure they address real needs. To explore the potential of social robots in this context, we conducted five design workshops with high school and university students (N = 47). In the workshops, participants ideated social robots intended to support youth participation in society, starting with the robot’s purpose and continuing with defining its interaction methods and appearance. Through a qualitative analysis of participants’ design conversations and the resulting 24 robot ideas, we identified four themes related to different contexts of societal participation: democracy, environmental actions, social inclusion, and well-being. Participants imagined robots for various purposes, such as conveying feedback, educating, assisting in decision-making, facilitating discussions, and therapeutic interactions. Based on the findings, we outline four potential interaction roles that appear feasible for robots supporting societal participation: informing, stimulating, simulating, and mediating. Although the findings are exploratory, the identified contexts and roles can serve as inspiration and a framework for further research to study the possible benefits and challenges of social robots in the context of societal participation.