Human vulnerability and robo-advisory: An application of Coeckelbergh's vulnerability to the machine-human interface

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce the work of Mark Coeckelbergh into the field of management. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper with interviews. Findings The author suggests that Coeckelberghs' considerations of an anthropology of vulnerability have the potential to provide a rich and insightful exploration of the machine-human interface, which is not afforded by many of the current approaches taken in this field. Their development of an anthropology of vulnerability suggests an approach to the machine-human interface that re-frames the machine-human interface in terms of human vulnerability, rather than machine's performance, and sustains that the machine-human interface can be understood in terms of the transfer of human vulnerability. Research limitations/implications This paper reveals some of the possibilities inherent in Coeckelbergh's theories by providing an analysis of a specific event, the recent introduction of robo-advisors in portfolio management, from a Coeckelberghian perspective and by exploring some of the implications of this type of approach for the machine-human interface. Originality/value As far as the author knows, there is no previous paper on this topic.