On November 15, 2023, Dr. Lin Baiyu from Arizona State University was invited to deliver an academic presentation titled "Research on the Ethical Issues of Hotel Service Robots" for the faculty and students of our college. The event saw participation from Prof. Li Nao, Prof. Liao Jiangqun, Prof. Peng Yanjun, Associate Professor Gong Kedi, and Prof. Zhang Haojue from Business School, as well as Prof. Ge Hongling from Economics School and doctoral and master's students from both schools.
        Dr. Lin specializes in business ethics, service innovation within information technology, social media network analysis, and sustainable development in tourism destinations. He has authored over ten papers in Chinese and four SSCI papers in English; three additional SSCI papers are currently under review along with one monograph and two books published by Ren Tourism Management Perspectives and Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research respectively. He serves as a reviewer for several international SSCI journals including Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Technology and Tourism Analysis; he will also be guest editing for the SSCI International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management soon. Dr. Lin has participated in more than ten significant national projects alongside provincial-level initiatives at his university; he led a campus robot innovation project at Arizona State University while contributing to new media research for Arizona Travel Magazine as well as an economic promotion project focused on Indian tribe tourism.

        During his lecture, Dr. Lin shared insights regarding ethical concerns surrounding hotel service robots—highlighting that the pandemic has expedited their integration into hospitality sectors—affording consumers greater exposure to these innovative services yet simultaneously raising critical ethical dilemmas such as job displacement and personal data privacy issues. To address these challenges comprehensively, Dr. Lin's research investigates consumer perceptions regarding autonomous service robots' ethical implications along with their influence on trust levels among users’ willingness to engage with such technologies further revealing eight key ethical concerns identified by consumers themselves. The findings indicate that initial trust significantly mediates between consumer awareness concerning ethical issues related to these robots versus their behavioral intentions towards them—with individual innovativeness acting notably moderating this relationship overall emphasizing how crucial it is to foster trust throughout service interactions when tackling associated moral quandaries thereby offering valuable guidance applicable across diverse industries employing autonomous robotic solutions.
        After the presentation, the participating teachers and students had an exchange and discussion with Dr. Lin. Professor Liao Jiangqun, Professor Li Nao and Professor Ge Hongling respectively conducted in-depth discussions on Dr Lin's report. Prof. Liao Jiangqun and Dr. Lin discussed the details of the research method, and provided new ideas for future research from the perspective of psychology. Prof. Li Nao pointed out that the research on the ethics of hotel robots is relatively advanced, and discussed with Dr. Lin the theoretical framework for the application of the technology. Professor Ge Hongling discussed with Dr. Lin from the cross-research between the financial field and the hotel service field, and the policies and regulations on the ethical issues of artificial intelligence. Associate Professor Gong Kedi discussed with Dr. Lin from the intersection of AI ethics issues and media and looked forward to future cooperation. Zhang Haojue believes that Dr. Lin's report is very inspiring for her research on service robots in national public service places. Afterwards, the participants actively asked questions and asked Dr. Lin Baiyu about the research ideas and research methods. Finally, the teachers and students expressed their gratitude to Dr. Lin and expressed their hope to have more opportunities to communicate and cooperate with Dr. Lin in the future.