Advancements in artificial intelligence are challenging current policy frameworks. Both the human-computer interaction (HCI) community and policymakers note that technologies are designed better when they take into account the impact on society, and that policies are more effective when they are grounded in technical knowledge. Design research can be a powerful lens to support policy design processes. Driven by the potential for design research in technology policy development, the Robot Policy Design Toolkit (RPDT) was designed to support forecasting of robot technology policy and facilitate policy design experiences through a speculative design approach, centering forecasting, compromise, and simplicity design principles. This paper introduces the toolkit's design, reveals insights from how technologists design policies around social robots, and provides reflections from technology policy experts on the value and potential for design research tools, such as the RPDT, in policymaking contexts.
ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems