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Why Some People Perceive Robots As Having Mental States – New Study Tries To Figure Out

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New research published today suggests that when robots appear to interact with humans and display humanlike emotions, people may mistakenly believe that they are capable of “thinking,” or acting on their own beliefs and desires rather than following predetermined instructions.

Agnieszka Wykowska, PhD, the study author and principal investigator at the Italian Institute of Technology, said, it is yet unclear how human-like behavior, anthropomorphic shape, and the tendency to assume autonomous thought and deliberate action in robots are related. 

“As artificial intelligence increasingly becomes a part of our lives,” according to the author, “it is important to understand how interacting with a robot that displays human-like behaviors might induce a higher likelihood of attribution of intentional agency to the robot.”

The findings appeared in the peer-reviewed journal Technology, Mind, and Behavior.

Through a series of three tests with a total of 119 participants, scientists looked into how people would perceive the iCub, a humanoid robot, after interacting with it in social settings and sharing in video-based activities.

Participants responded to questions showing photos of the robot in various scenarios and were asked to select whether they believed each scenario’s purpose was mechanical or intentional before and after interacting with the robot.

Participants, for example, saw three photographs of a robot selecting a tool and then chose whether the robot “grasped the closest object” or “was fascinated by tool use.”

In the first two studies, the researchers remotely directed iCub’s behavior so it would act naturally, introducing itself, greeting individuals, and asking for their names.

The robot’s eyes had cameras that could detect the faces of the participants and keep eye contact. The participants next viewed three brief documentaries with the robot, which was designed to make sad, amazed, or happy sounds and display the appropriate facial expressions.

In the third experiment, the researchers set up iCub to act more like a machine while it watched videos with the participants.

The cameras in the robot’s eyes were deactivated, preventing it from maintaining eye contact, and it only spoke pre-recorded phrases to the participants regarding the calibration process it was experiencing.

All of its emotional responses to the videos were replaced by a “beep” and repetitive movements of its torso, head, and neck.

Researchers discovered that participants who engaged with both the human-like robot and the machine-like robot were more likely to perceive the robot’s activities as intentional as opposed to programmed.

This demonstrates that people do not automatically assume that a robot that resembles a human being has the ability to think and feel. It’s possible that human-like conduct is essential for being taken seriously as an intentional agent.

These results, in Wykowska’s opinion, suggest that when artificial intelligence gives the appearance of mimicking human behavior, people may be more likely to assume that it is capable of independent thought. She suggested that this might influence the design of social robots in the future.

In certain situations, such as with socially assistive robots, social bonding with robots may be advantageous. For instance, social connection with robots in senior care may result in a higher level of compliance with instructions to take medication, according to Wykowska.

“Determining contexts in which social bonding and attribution of intentionality is beneficial for the well-being of humans is the next step of research in this area.”

Image Credit: Getty

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