Why do children and adults mock robots?

A group of Japanese researchers from Ryukoku University, Tokai University, and the ATR Intelligent Robotics and Communication Laboratories investigated child aggression against a humanoid robot in a supermarket ( pdf ). During the observations, the following behavior of children was noted: they blocked the way for the robot, covered his eyes with his hands, hit him on the head, pushed, threw foreign objects into 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 protective measures for robots should be provided, the authors of the study say.

According to scientists, the psychological motives of child aggression against other children and animals were previously studied. These are several motives, including a sense of dominance and a desire to join a group. The authors of the study tried to understand whether these motives are applicable in case of children's aggression to robots. The question is whether a humanoid robot is perceived as a humanoid creature, or at least as a living creature, in principle.

Other studies have previously shown that a robot causes empathy if it is as human-like as possible. Researchers checked whether this parameter affects the level of child aggression towards the car.

To test their points, scientists organized a series of interviews with children who mocked a robot in a supermarket. A total of 28 children were interviewed. They spoke about the reasons for their behavior: 22% mocked the robot out of curiosity, 35% did it for pleasure, 17% 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 the humanity of a 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.

A recent tragic incident with a robot hitchhiker showed that even adults are not always humane to humanoid robots. Cases of unexplained aggression are sometimes observed.

For example, a doctor at one of the US hospitals said they had robotic couriers dispensing drugs. To management's surprise, lower-level employees instead of pride in their advanced hospital began to sabotage robots. Sabotage sometimes included cases of direct aggression: kicks, punches with a baseball bat, drawing with a marker on the camera lens, shoving and punches. However, for the most part, sabotage consisted of passive aggression: robots were locked in the basement, moved from the planned route, and most often minimized their use.

According to the doctor, this is a peculiar manifestation of neoluddism. Workers believe that robots are applying for their jobs. They see competitors. “The irony is that the resistance is directed in the wrong direction. If technology is responsible for job loss and growing inequality in the organization of society, then we need to focus on networked computers and software, he writes. - Robotics is not even a rounding errorin this equation. But information technology is practically invisible and inert, and robots appear with obvious intentions in the places where we live and work. A growing body of research shows that we are having strong internal reactions to technology with this combination of qualities. I also saw the bright side of this in hospitals: workers gave the robots names, dressed them and talked to them. The children waited all day, only to walk alongside them in their cancerous corps. One of the employees even baked a roll for the robot with zucchini for Christmas. ”