Call for Papers:

Towards Ethical Deception in HRI
A Workshop at RO-MAN 2026, the 35th IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication
Kitakyushu International Conference Center
August 24-28, 2024
Kitakyushu, Japan
Workshop: https://sites.google.com/view/ted-hri
RO-MAN 2026: https://ro-man2026.org

Deadline for submission of papers: May 31, 2026

This workshop focuses on the ethical and pro-social use of deceptive and persuasive behaviours in social robotics, exploring how robots deployed in healthcare, educational, caregiving, and domestic environments can strategically employ techniques such as white lies, intentional errors, and selective information omission to improve user well-being and interaction effectiveness. As social robots evolve beyond reactive dialogue systems toward socio-emotionally aware agents capable of addressing users’ broader psychological needs, the deliberate and context-sensitive use of deception emerges as a nuanced but potentially valuable behavioural strategy. At the same time, the workshop critically engages with the controversies surrounding robot deception, acknowledging the lack of scholarly consensus on its definition and the ethical boundaries that must govern its application. By bringing together researchers from multiple disciplines, the workshop aims to advance a shared understanding of how robots might ethically leverage deceptive and persuasive mechanisms to improve human well-being without exploiting human vulnerabilities.

We will have two exceptional speakers with very interesting and different views on the topic, and they will spark engaging and endearing conversations: Kaoru Sumi, Future University (Hakodate, Japan) and Robert Sparrow, Monash University (Melbourne, Australia).

SUBMISSION & LIST OF TOPICS

The workshop is open to a broad audience from academia and industry researching social robotics, robot ethics, cognitive science, psychology, and philosophy of technology. The workshop aims to attract an interdisciplinary audience that includes academics, industry researchers, designers, and policy-makers interested in exploring the integration of deceptive techniques in designed-centred and ethics-centred HRI. By fostering dialogue across disciplinary and methodological boundaries, the workshop seeks to promote a shared understanding of how social robots might responsibly employ complex behavioural strategies in human-centred contexts, such as education, healthcare and service.

We will invite authors to submit scientific papers ranging from 2 to 6 pages, with additional space for references and appendices. We will accept different types of works, including preliminary findings, case studies, position papers, surveys and cutting-edge research on the workshop topics. Accepted papers will have short oral presentations.

We will encourage authors of the accepted papers to present a video or to demonstrate their work.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

Design and Mechanisms of Robot Deception

• Creating deceptive robots
• Mechanisms of deceptive robots
• Machine learning and deceptive robots
• Applications of deceptive robots
• Pro-social deception
• Anti-social robot deception

Ethics and Responsible Development

• Ethical (RoboEthics) implications of deceptive robotics
• Responsible development of robotic deception
• Participatory design for appropriate deceptive behaviors
• Who decides who can be deceived (and when)?
• The deception objection debate (e.g., are expressive robots deceptive?)

Counter-Deception, Resilience, and Impacts

• Counter-deception and resilience (for humans and robots)
• Consequences for acceptance and trust in social robotics
• Design boundaries for persuasive/deceptive techniques
• Risks to autonomy and well-being (especially vulnerable populations)

IMPORTANT DATES

All deadlines are at 23:59 AOE

• General deadline for paper submission: 31 May 2026
• General Paper acceptance notification: 19 June 2026
• Camera-ready deadline: 3 July 2026
• Conference dates: 24-28 August 2026

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

We welcome submissions of the following types:

• Regular Research Papers (up to 6 pages, excluding references)
• Short Research Papers (up to 4 pages, excluding references)
• Position Papers (up to 4 pages, excluding references)

Papers must be in high-resolution PDF format. Authors should prepare papers formatted according to the IEEE two-column format, which is also used for contributions to the main conference. Use the following templates to create the paper and generate or export a PDF file:LaTeX orMS-Word.

Authors needs to submit their PDF via EasyChair. Each paper will receive at least two reviews. All papers are reviewed using a single-blind review process: authors declare their names and affiliations in the manuscript for the reviewers to see, but reviewers do not know each other’s identities, nor do the authors receive information about who has reviewed their manuscript.

COMMITTEES

• Kantwon Rogers, Massachusetts Inst. of Technology, Massachusetts, USA
• Andres Rosero, George Mason University, Virginia, USA
• Alessandra Rossi, University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy
• Silvia Rossi, University of Naples Federico II, Napoli, Italy
• Henrik Skaug Sætra, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
• Alan Wagner, Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, USA

CONTACT

All questions about submissions should be emailed to alessandra.rossi@unina.it