Call for Papers "iSRED 2026"

We are pleased to announce that the International Symposium on Social Robots and Ethical Design (iSRED), chaired by Associate Professor Weng (Cross-Appointment, FRIS, Tohoku University), is now accepting submissions.

Starting in 2024, the annual IAS-FRIS Symposium on Social Robots and Ethical Design, a collaboration between the Institute for Advanced Study, Kyushu University and the Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University, will be held with the participation of strategic partners such as the Research Center for Digital Humanities at National Taiwan University, the Centre for Law and Technology (LawTech) at the University of Hong Kong, and the Graduate School of Data Science at Seoul National University. We believe that this symposium should extend beyond its locations in Fukuoka and Sendai and focus on closer exchanges with other universities in East Asia. After careful consideration, we have decided to change the name of the conference to the International Symposium on Social Robots and Ethical Design (iSRED) and to change from an invitation-only conference to a CFP open call for papers conference.

■ Features of the New iSRED

1. Establishment of an Interdisciplinary Peer Review and Publishing System:

The system will be established with robot ethics at its core, spanning four fields: Advanced Robotics, Human-Robot Interaction, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Interdisciplinary Sciences.

2. 100 World-Class Peer Reviewers:

Renowned scholars in the field of AI and robot ethics will be invited to join, bringing the total to 100, spanning four fields: Engineering, Psychology, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Interdisciplinary Sciences, with robot ethics at its core.

3. Innovative Organization: Utilizing a Research Network:

A strategic collaboration between the Tohoku University Interdisciplinary Research Center and the Kyushu University Institute for Advanced Studies will establish an innovative organizational "Research Network." iSRED will be hosted by two interdisciplinary hubs: (1) the Embodied AI Hub (based at Tohoku University) and (2) the Creative ELSI Hub (based at Kyushu University)

■ Event Overview
Date: November 10–11, 2026

Location: Inamori Hall, Inamori Foundation Memorial Hall, Ito Campus, Kyushu University (hybrid event)

■ Paper submission
Submission Period: March 13–July 31, 2026
■ iSRED 2026 Annual Theme
Leveraging Design Thinking for the Implementation of Responsible Robotics

Sponsor: Institute for Advanced Study, Kyushu University

Co-sponsors:  Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University

    Smart Robots Design Laboratory, Department of Robotics, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku      University

    Research Center for Digital Humanities, National Taiwan University

    Graduate School of Informatics, University of Oslo

Technical co-organizer: IEEE Society for the Social Impact of Technology (SSIT)

As technological progress consistently outpaces traditional legislative processes, there is an urgent need for "compliance by design" in the development of social robots. This symposium explores how Design Thinking — a human-centric, iterative methodology — can serve as a foundational framework for Responsible Robotics.

By applying core design thinking principles — Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test — developers can move beyond mere technical functionality to address the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) inherent in human-robot interaction. One example is the "Ethics-by-Design" approach, integrated through the BS 8611 standard for robot ethics, allows for the early identification of societal hazards such as privacy loss, emotional dependency, and algorithmic bias.

We welcome submissions that provide a case study/theoretical analysis of socially embedded systems (e.g., healthcare or assistive robots), demonstrating how iterative prototyping and stakeholder feedback loops foster transparency and accountability.

iSRED 2026 Symposium Topics include but are not limited to:

◎ Social, Ethical, and Environmental Implications of Social Robots

◎ Automation, AI Ethics, and Social Justice in Human-Robot Interactions

◎ Implications of Design Thinking for Social Systems, Robot Governance

◎ Social Robots and the Digital Transformation

◎ Challenges of Robot Technologies for Engineering Ethics Education

◎ Social Robots and Future of Work

◎ Emerging Robot Technologies and UN Sustainable Development Goals

◎ Ethics, Regulation, and Emerging Robot Technologies

◎ Perspectives on Robot Technologies from Humanities and Social Sciences

◎ Climate Change, Sustainability and Emerging Robot Technologies

◎ Teaching Robot Ethics

◎ The Future of Robot Innovation and Social Responsibility

The aim of this symposium is to foster interdisciplinary dialogue among philosophers, legal scholars, social scientists, psychologists, computer scientists, and roboticists. To avoid over-concentration on a single field, we adopted the structural design for the publication of accepted papers (they shall also be qualified to the requirements of IEEE Xplore) from its predecessor, IAS-FRIS Symposium on Social Robots and Ethical Design, and divided it into four major sessions, such as: Advanced Robotics is the focus of engineering, Human-Robot Interaction is the focus of psychology, Public Policy and Philosophy is the focus of humanities and social sciences, and Ethical Design and Governance is the focus of the interdisciplinary sciences. Our goal is to ensure that the Proceedings of iSRED 2026 covers all four sessions equally, but we will make necessary adjustments if there are too many or too few submissions for a particular theme.

■ Schedule

Full Paper Submission: June 1 - July 31, 2026.

Workshop Proposal Submission: June 1 - July 31, 2026.

Notification of Acceptance: August 31, 2026.

Early Bird Registration: Starts August 31, 2026.

■ Submission Method

Please visit the iSRED 2026 website for submission instructions.