The politics of imaginary technologies: Innovation ecosystems as political choreographies for promoting care robotics in health care

Abstract

This chapter discusses strategies and innovation ecosystems of care robotics as political choreographies that promote emerging technologies by speculating about and offering imaginary futures of health care. Since the most promising care robots are still at the prototype stage, it is justified to call multitasking care robots ‘imaginary technologies’. My hypothesis is that many academic actors have embraced a societal goal of advancing the utilisation of robots in social and welfare services, acting as prime movers in innovation ecosystems. Using recent examples from the care robotics literature and media texts, I introduce two types of interventions through which researchers participate in the process of domesticating care robots in health care and, through this, also construct innovation ecosystems. I suggest that instead of staying in a ‘neutral position’ with respect to these technologies, the intention of these researchers is to intervene and change prevailing care practices.