The increasing integration of human-robot interaction (HRI) into social settings demands the development of human-centered AI technologies that prioritize intuitive, ethical, and empathetic interactions. As robots become more prevalent in everyday life—ranging from assistive devices in healthcare to educational tools in classrooms and customer service agents in retail—it is essential to ensure they can communicate and collaborate with humans in ways that are not only effective but also socially appropriate and meaningful. This workshop aims to explore cutting-edge advancements and interdisciplinary approaches to building AI-driven systems that facilitate effective, meaningful, and socially appropriate interactions between robots and humans across various environments such as healthcare, education, and customer service. We will primarily focus on several key themes, such as human-centered contextual AI, AI-driven intelligent robotics, ethical and responsible AI, and real-world applications. This workshop invites contributions from researchers, practitioners, and developers who are working on AI systems that empower robots to operate effectively in human-centered environments. By addressing challenges such as interpreting human emotions, understanding social cues, and adhering to ethical standards, and by sharing advancements in human-centered AI, we aim to shape the future of HRI. Our goal is to ensure that robots enrich human social experiences, fostering interactions that are not only efficient but also enhance the quality of life. By uniting efforts from various disciplines, we aspire to create robots that seamlessly integrate into society, ultimately contributing to a more harmonious coexistence between humans and robotic systems.

Many researchers focus on the relationship between culture and creativity, often analyzing the influence of culture on design creativity. However, most studies only draw conclusions about the positive or negative effects of culture on creativity, rather than providing solutions to mitigate the adverse impact or magnify the positive impact. Therefore, in the current study, we first developed a dedicated framework to explain the influence of culture on design creativity based on the 4Ps model of creativity (person, process, product, and press). Then, we analyzed the influence of culture on design creativity based on Hofstede’s dimensions of culture. Following this, we identified the methods and solutions that can be adopted to mitigate negative cultural influences and prime positive cultural influences on design creativity. Finally, we proposed possible solutions to mitigate the negative cultural influences and prime the positive cultural influences by applying innovative technology to design creativity. Our study will inspire researchers to mitigate the negative influences of culture, magnify the positive effects, and apply new technology to enhance creativity.