Why do kids and adults mock robots?
A group of Japanese researchers from Ryukoku University, Tokai University and the ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories Robotics Laboratories investigated child aggression toward a humanoid robot in a supermarket ( pdf ). During the observations, the following behavior of the children was noted: they blocked the path of the robot, covered his eyes with his hands, hit the head, pushed, threw foreign objects at the robot and kicked them.
Children are present in many public places where robots work and will work: supermarkets, hospitals, schools, museums, etc. Therefore, appropriate measures of protection should be provided for robots, the authors of the study believe.
According to scientists, the psychological motives of children's aggression towards other children and animals were previously studied. These are several motives, including a sense of dominance and a desire to join the group. The authors of the study tried to understand whether these motifs are applicable to robots during the aggression of children. The question is whether a humanoid robot is perceived as a human-like creature, or at least as a living creature, in principle.
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Other studies have previously shown that the robot causes empathy, if most similar to humans. The researchers checked whether this parameter affects the level of child aggression to the car.
To test their theses, the scientists organized a series of interviews with children who mocked the robot in the supermarket. A total of 28 children were surveyed. They spoke about the reasons for their behavior: 22% mocked the robot out of curiosity, 35% did it for fun, 17% of actions were caused by the example of other children.
As it turned out, half of the children believed that the robot perceives their mocking behavior. This can be regarded as a manifestation of empathy for the robot.
The authors of the study conclude that a humanoid robot does not always lead to a decrease in the level of aggression towards it. On the contrary, increased empathy of people can lead to increased levels of aggression, as is the case with children in a supermarket.
The recent tragic incident with the robot-hitch has shown that even adults are not always humane towards humanoid robots. Sometimes there are cases of unexplained aggression.
For example, a doctor at a hospital in the United States says that they have robots for spacing drugs introduced. To the surprise of management, lower-level employees, instead of taking pride in their advanced hospital, began to sabotage the robots . Sabotage sometimes included cases of direct aggression: kicking with a foot, hitting a baseball bat, drawing with a marker on a camera lens, shoving and hitting with a fist. However, for the most part, sabotage consisted of passive aggression: robots were locked in the basement, shifted from the planned route, and most often minimized their use.
According to the doctor, this is a peculiar manifestation of Neo-Luddism. Workers believe that robots claim their jobs. They see competitors. “The irony is that resistance is not directed there. If technologies are responsible for the loss of jobs and growing inequality in the organization of society, then you need to focus on networked computers and software, he writes. - Robotics do not even have a rounding error in this equation. But information technologies are almost invisible and inert, and robots appear with obvious intentions in the places where we live and work. A growing amount of research shows that we have strong internal reactions to technology with this combination of qualities. I also saw the bright side of it in hospitals: the workers gave names to the robots, dressed them and talked to them. The children waited all day, only to walk along with them in their cancerous body. One of the employees even baked a zucchini bun for the robot for Christmas. ”
Children are present in many public places where robots work and will work: supermarkets, hospitals, schools, museums, etc. Therefore, appropriate measures of protection should be provided for robots, the authors of the study believe.
According to scientists, the psychological motives of children's aggression towards other children and animals were previously studied. These are several motives, including a sense of dominance and a desire to join the group. The authors of the study tried to understand whether these motifs are applicable to robots during the aggression of children. The question is whether a humanoid robot is perceived as a human-like creature, or at least as a living creature, in principle.
')
Other studies have previously shown that the robot causes empathy, if most similar to humans. The researchers checked whether this parameter affects the level of child aggression to the car.
To test their theses, the scientists organized a series of interviews with children who mocked the robot in the supermarket. A total of 28 children were surveyed. They spoke about the reasons for their behavior: 22% mocked the robot out of curiosity, 35% did it for fun, 17% of actions were caused by the example of other children.
As it turned out, half of the children believed that the robot perceives their mocking behavior. This can be regarded as a manifestation of empathy for the robot.
The authors of the study conclude that a humanoid robot does not always lead to a decrease in the level of aggression towards it. On the contrary, increased empathy of people can lead to increased levels of aggression, as is the case with children in a supermarket.
The recent tragic incident with the robot-hitch has shown that even adults are not always humane towards humanoid robots. Sometimes there are cases of unexplained aggression.
For example, a doctor at a hospital in the United States says that they have robots for spacing drugs introduced. To the surprise of management, lower-level employees, instead of taking pride in their advanced hospital, began to sabotage the robots . Sabotage sometimes included cases of direct aggression: kicking with a foot, hitting a baseball bat, drawing with a marker on a camera lens, shoving and hitting with a fist. However, for the most part, sabotage consisted of passive aggression: robots were locked in the basement, shifted from the planned route, and most often minimized their use.
According to the doctor, this is a peculiar manifestation of Neo-Luddism. Workers believe that robots claim their jobs. They see competitors. “The irony is that resistance is not directed there. If technologies are responsible for the loss of jobs and growing inequality in the organization of society, then you need to focus on networked computers and software, he writes. - Robotics do not even have a rounding error in this equation. But information technologies are almost invisible and inert, and robots appear with obvious intentions in the places where we live and work. A growing amount of research shows that we have strong internal reactions to technology with this combination of qualities. I also saw the bright side of it in hospitals: the workers gave names to the robots, dressed them and talked to them. The children waited all day, only to walk along with them in their cancerous body. One of the employees even baked a zucchini bun for the robot for Christmas. ”
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/367903/
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