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According to recent American Psychological Association research, humans may mistakenly believe that robots are capable of "thinking" when they interact with them and show human-like emotions. In other words, rather than just following their plans, it is thought that they are acting on their convictions and desires.
The study's lead investigator and researcher, Agnieszka Wykowska, Ph.D., is from the Italian Institute of Technology.
The importance of comprehending how interacting with a robot that exhibits human-like actions might increase the chance of attributing international agency to the robot is stressed by Wykowska in her article.
The researchers used 119 patients in three studies to test how they would react to iCub, a humanoid robot, after interacting with it and watching films with it. A questionnaire was filled out by participants both before and after they interacted with the robot. The participants were asked to select whether the robot's motivation in each scenario was mechanical or purposeful after seeing images of the robot in various contexts.
In the first two tests, the researchers used a remote control to instruct iCub to behave erratically. It greeted everyone, gave its name, and inquired about the names of the participants. The robot's eyes were equipped with cameras that could detect the faces of the participants and keep eye contact. The robot, which was configured to respond with sounds and facial emotions of pain, happiness, or astonishment, was then requested to view three brief documentaries with the users.
In the third trial, iCub was designed to act more robotically while watching films with the subjects. It could not maintain eye contact because the cameras were turned off, and it only spoke recorded lines regarding the calibration procedure it was going through. The robot didn't react to the videos with any emotion; instead, it simply beeped and made repeated movements with its head, torso, and neck.
The study showed that viewers of videos featuring the human-like robot were more likely to attribute the robot's movements to intentional, rather than programmed, behavior. However, individuals who only connected with the robotic replica were more inclined to see the acts as predetermined. These findings imply that the human-like robot must exhibit human-like behavior for humans to regard it as an intentional agent rather than just exposure to a human-like robot.
According to Wykowska, the results suggest that if artificial intelligence exhibits human-like behavior, people may be more likely to assume that it is capable of independent reasoning.
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. The next stage of this research will aim to identify the situations in which social connection and intentionality are advantageous to human welfare.
