University of Bristol Lead Applicant: Dr Natasha Mulvihill in the School for Policy Studies
International Collaborators: Dr Katie Winkle (Uppsala University, Sweden)
In May 2025*, Associate Professor in Criminology Natasha Mulvihill will be hosting Dr Katie Winkle, an Assistant Professor in Human-Robot Interaction at the University of Uppsala, in Sweden. This visit is co-sponsored by Dr Sanja Milivojevic, Associate Professor at Bristol Digital Futures Institute.
Katie is an emerging leader in the field of 'Feminist HRI', which takes an ethical and human-centred approach to the development of robotic technologies. Through late 2023 and early 2024, Katie and Natasha brought together their respective expertise (unfunded and entirely remotely) to develop a horizon-scanning typology for how robots may be used to exercise coercive control within intimate spaces. This applies most obviously to domestic abuse between partners, but could have relevance for social care, criminal justice and other settings. The paper was presented at the prestigious ACM/IEEE International Conference on HRI in Colorado in March 2024 and provides individuals and organisations developing AI-powered robots with pragmatic tools for identifying and mitigating associated risks.
Katie's focus on AI, robotics and technology in society aligns with the research and overriding philosophy of a number of institutes and centres at the University of Bristol. These include the Bristol Digital Futures Institute, Bristol Robotics Lab (co-hosted with UWE), and Centre for Sociodigital Futures, as well as the University’s broader goal to connect academics across disciplines in the context of delivering AI innovation. An important part of the visit will be to explore Bristol’s novel research facilities, including the BDFI Reality Emulator. Exploring human robot interaction and gender violence using a reality emulator/digital twin would be an international first, and also moves the academic contribution from critique towards technology practical co-creation and co-design.
During her visit, Katie will be delivering seminars to relevant groups across the University. Natasha and Katie are also working on co-authoring a book on robots and gendered harm and exploring the development of joint, potentially groundbreaking, research bids which bridge their disciplines and provide timely, practical interventions in what is a rapidly developing technology.
*Due to unforeseen circumstances, Katie's visit to Bristol has been cancelled. However, Natasha and Katie will continue to work unfunded on the proposed outputs in the medium term. They would like to register their thanks to the RDICA team for their support and they welcome future queries on the theme of robots, gender and harm to:
