# Crossing the Tepper Line: An Emerging Ontology for Describing the Dynamic Sociality of Embodied AI

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2103.08079 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.08079/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 2 of its 44 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 15 Mar 2021.

## Builds on (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [The Rise of Social Bots](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1407.5225/) (2014)
- [In a Silent Way: Communication Between AI and Improvising Musicians Beyond Sound](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.06442/) (2019)

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Nonverbal Cues in Human-Robot Interaction: A Communication Studies Perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.11293/) (2023)
- [Trust in Human-AI Interaction: Scoping Out Models, Measures, and Methods](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.00189/) (2022)
- [Social Identity in Human-Agent Interaction: A Primer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.16609/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Artificial intelligences (AI) are increasingly being embodied and embedded in the world to carry out tasks and support decision-making with and for people. Robots, recommender systems, voice assistants, virtual humans - do these disparate types of embodied AI have something in common? Here we show how they can manifest as "socially embodied AI." We define this as the state that embodied AI "circumstantially" take on within interactive contexts when perceived as both social and agentic by people. We offer a working ontology that describes how embodied AI can dynamically transition into socially embodied AI. We propose an ontological heuristic for describing the threshold: the Tepper line. We reinforce our theoretical work with expert insights from a card sort workshop. We end with two case studies to illustrate the dynamic and contextual nature of this heuristic.