Interview with Author Marcel Heerink

Marcel Heerink is an internationally renowned academic researcher from the Netherlands. He specializes in using social robots in therapy and education for people with special needs. He just published a book, titled “A Compassionate Guide For Social Robots.”
Shouldn’t it be a guide TO Social Robots?

No, you see, the book explains humans to social robots. I learned a lot from that point of view. What inspired me was a quote from Douglas Adams, I writer I admire very much: “If you really want to understand something, the best way is to try and explain it to someone else.”

So what kind of book is it? Fiction or nonfiction?

Well, wherever I had to list the book, I found it hardly possible to choose the right categories. To choose between fiction and nonfiction is already very hard. I wish there was a blended category. It’s actually both. It explains human nature, it tells about experiences I had, doing research with social robots for people with special needs. Like children with autism and people with dementia. But it also uses storytelling, to illustrate the things that are explained.

What is the storytelling about?

The main story is about a young Italian guy who builds a very special robot. It becomes a huge attraction. But people don’t always understand it. And there are some very strange things happening to the robot. And he’s in love. But those are all the spoilers I can give.

Did it get any reviews yet?

Yes. And I’m really happy with them. Funny thing is that they sometimes praise the book for things I didn’t expect. That they like it because of my sense of humor, for example. Or that it changed their view on robots. I would have expected it changed their view on people, or on intelligence.

Why do you think this is an important book?

It shows how challenging, how remarkable and how wonderful people are when you see them through the eyes of an artificial intelligence. It may change your point of view on robots, on technology in general, but perhaps also you views on what it means to be human. The first sentence in the book description on the cover is: “What’s the point of being human?”

More information on the book can be found at the author’s website, at https://marcelheerink.nl/guide/