Is Robot Labor Labor? Delivery Robots and the Politics of Work in Public Space

2026-02-18

AI Summary

This study examines whether sidewalk delivery robots constitute “labor” and how they reconfigure social relations and labor forms in public space. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in two smart city districts in Seoul and integrating sociological and human–robot interaction theories, the research uncovers the human labor, institutional coordination, and social adaptation processes underpinning robotic operations. It introduces the concept of “robotic privilege” to reconceptualize robot labor as a distributed socio-technical assemblage, arguing that human–robot interaction scholarship must incorporate perspectives from labor politics and spatial justice. The findings reveal that robots do not eliminate labor but rather transform its form; furthermore, public perceptions of robots as “cute” or “admirable” highlight the tension between visible and invisible labor.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Human-Robot Interaction
• Philosophy and Ethics of AI: AI & Jobs/Labor
• Humans and AI: Interaction Techniques and Devices

Application Category

• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Fairness and ethical considerations in crowd work and in human-in-the-loop AI systems
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Security and Privacy: Data transparency and provenance

Abstract

As sidewalk delivery robots become increasingly integrated into urban life, this paper begins with a critical provocation: Is robot labor labor? More than a rhetorical question, this inquiry invites closer attention to the social and political arrangements that robot labor entails. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork across two smart-city districts in Seoul, we examine how delivery robot labor is collectively sustained. While robotic actions are often framed as autonomous and efficient, we show that each successful delivery is in fact a distributed sociotechnical achievement--reliant on human labor, regulatory coordination, and social accommodations. We argue that delivery robots do not replace labor but reconfigure it--rendering some forms more visible (robotic performance) while obscuring others (human and institutional support). Unlike industrial robots, delivery robots operate in shared public space, engage everyday passersby, and are embedded in policy and progress narratives. In these spaces, we identify"robot privilege"--humans routinely yielding to robots--and distinct perceptions between casual observers ("cute") and everyday coexisters ("admirable"). We contribute a conceptual reframing of robot labor as a collective assemblage, empirical insights into South Korea's smart-city automation, and a call for HRI to engage more deeply with labor and spatial politics to better theorize public-facing robots.

Problem

• robot labor
• public space
• delivery robots
• labor reconfiguration
• sociotechnical assemblage

Innovation

• robot labor
• sociotechnical assemblage
• robot privilege
• public space
• human-robot interaction