Book Release: "Degrees of Freedom: On Robotics and Social Justice" (MIT Press)

We are pleased to announce the December 9th release of "Degrees of Freedom:=
 On Robotics and Social Justice" from MIT Press.

In Degrees of Freedom, Tom Williams explores critical questions at the inte=
rsection of robotics and social justice. He considers the ways in which rob=
oticists design their robots=92 appearance, how robots think and act, how r=
obots perceive people, and the domains into which robots are deployed. The =
book highlights not only the ways roboticists tend to reinforce white patri=
archal power structures but also how roboticists might instead subvert thos=
e power structures by applying theories and methods from a diverse range of=
 fields.

Drawing on computer science; history and politics; law, criminology, and so=
ciology; feminist, ethnic, and Black studies; literary and media studies; a=
nd social, moral, and cognitive psychology, the book connects questions of =
robot design with larger abolitionist movements by presenting a vision for =
a more socially just future of robotics.

=93Working from within the belly of the beast, Williams offers insights fro=
m the humanities and social sciences, especially critical social theory, to=
 imagine an equitable robotic future. True to an engineering ethos of =92do=
ing better,=92 this book both explores the foundational aspects of power th=
at invisibly shape robot design and suggests how to build robots better sui=
ted for advancing social justice.=94 ~Ericka Johnson, Professor of Gender a=
nd Society, Link=F6ping University, Sweden

=93Degrees of Freedom is a perfect example of how transgressing the boundar=
ies of hegemonic computing epistemologies better informs our collective und=
erstanding of not only how societal oppressions are replicated or exacerbat=
ed by robotics but also why the eradication of these harms is necessary and=
 possible for a more just society. It=92s this transgression that makes thi=
s book a must-read for scholars, professionals, students, and activists who=
se work creates, examines, or uses robots.=94 ~Nicki Washington, Cue Family=
 Professor of the Practice of Computer Science, Duke University

On December 9th, it is available at https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/book=
s/798105/degrees-of-freedom-by-tom-williams/ with a 30% Discount with code =
MITP30
Starting December 9th, it is available from the same site with a 20% Discou=
nt with code READMIT20, and is available to read for free via the Open Acce=
ss link at https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262554022/degrees-of-freedom/.
For those in Colorado, a book release event will be held at The Shop at Mat=
ter on Dec 18 at 6:30pm, with Tom Williams in conversation with Bryan Semaa=
n.



Tom Williams, Ph.D. (he/him)
----------------------------------------------------
Associate Professor
Computer Science | Robotics | Humanitarian Engineering
Director, MIRRORLab<http://mirrorlab.mines.edu/>
Colorado School of Mines
Golden, CO 80401, USA
https://people.mines.edu/twilliams
"Degrees of Freedom: On Robotics and Social Justice"<https://mitpress.mit.e=
du/9780262554022/degrees-of-freedom/> now available for pre-order.


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