• Computer Science > Computers and Society [Submitted on 18 Feb 2026] Title:Is Robot Labor Labor? • Delivery Robots and the Politics of Work in Public Space View PDF HTML (experimental)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).

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  • Computer Science > Computers and Society [Submitted on 18 Feb 2026] Title:Is Robot Labor Labor? Delivery Robots and the Politics of Work in Public Space View PDF HTML (experimental)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

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