The Robotics Divide A New Frontier in the 21st Century?

Antonio López Peláez holds a PhD in Philosophy and Sociology. He is a Full Professor of Social Work and Social Services at the Department of Social Work of the Faculty of Law at the UNED, the largest public university in Spain. His research interests include the analysis of social trends, methods of social intervention, and the intersections of new technologies and social work. He has been a visiting scholar at the School of Social Welfare of the University of California at Berkeley (USA), Universität Potsdam (Germany), the Department of Social Work at Universidad de Sonora (Hermosillo, Mexico) and the Universidad Americana (Managua, Nicaragua).

In 2001, he received the award for excellence in doctoral research for his Ph.D. in Sociology. In 2008, his article (with D. Kyriakou) “Robots, Genes and Bytes: Technology Development and Social Changes Towards the Year 2020” was named one of the Top 25 Hottest Articles in Technological Forecasting and Social Change. His most recent publications in the field of Futures Studies include López Peláez, A, Segado Sánchez-Cabezudo S, Kyriakou D (2012) Railway transport liberalization in the European Union: Freight, labour and health towards the year 2020 in Spain. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 79: 1388-1398; González de la Fe, T, López Peláez, A (eds) (2011) Innovación, conocimiento científico y cambio social (Innovation, scientific knowledge and social change). Madrid: Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas; López Peláez A., Segado Sánchez-Cabezudo S (2010) Liberalization Policies or Degradation Policies? The Spanish Railway Case. Revista Internacional de Sociología (RIS) 68: 757-773; López Peláez,, A, Kyriakou, D (2009) Technological Development and Social Change: Towards new implicit social contract. Pp. 27-42. In Stroud, B H, Corbin, S E (eds) Handbook on Social Change. New York: Nova Science Publishers; and López Peláez A (2009) Prospective and Social Change: How to DirectResearch and innovation Policies in Technologically Advanced Societies. Arbor. Ciencia, Pensamiento y Cultura 738: 825-836.