A Preliminary Case Study on Gender Norms in Robot-Assisted Diagnosis of Perinatal Depression: A Socio-Legal HRI Perspective

We propose that an interdisciplinary approach is necessary to better understand the normative gender aspects of automating perinatal depression-care in socially assistive robots and how to take them into account at design stage. Consequently, the aim is twofold: firstly, to understand the existing normative gender aspects within perinatal depression, and secondly, to enable the socially assistive robot to “normatively adapt” to the patient. Both, we argue, are vital in order to automate trustworthy perinatal depression assistance within socially assistive robots, as well as overcome the current social prejudices attached to the condition.