{"id":48574,"date":"2019-07-09T01:12:30","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T08:12:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/world.edu\/?p=48574"},"modified":"2019-07-09T02:28:56","modified_gmt":"2019-07-09T09:28:56","slug":"social-robots-how-to-relate-to-machines-that-pretend-not-to-be","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/social-robots-how-to-relate-to-machines-that-pretend-not-to-be\/","title":{"rendered":"Social robots: how to relate to machines that pretend not to be"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Social robots appear to be entities with feelings and relational capacity.\u00a0They are technologies with\u00a0pretensions to be social as people<\/a>\u00a0and other animals.\u00a0Social robots do not use them, we relate to them.\u00a0Your ability to address us on our own terms is the basis of your wonderful potential.\u00a0However, it also involves certain concerns that are interesting to know.<\/p>\n

Artificial sociality<\/h4>\n

Social robots have a particularity to have a body.\u00a0This physical reality that gives them a potential emotional impact on us far superior to that of their digital colleagues.<\/p>\n

His appearance and behavior-gestures, language, expressions-lead us to attribute intentions, emotions, understanding or empathy.\u00a0They are designed to attract and engage us with their biologically inspired appearance and behavior.\u00a0To a certain extent, we see them similar to ourselves.\u00a0At a deep level we recognize them, so the interaction with them becomes more natural and intuitive.<\/p>\n

Thanks to these social capacities, they are increasingly present in any area of \u200b\u200bour public and private lives.\u00a0They are out of the laboratories and providing their services in such sensitive environments as early childhood education, therapy and the accompaniment of the elderly.\u00a0Specific social robots are designed for education, for treatments of certain disorders, to keep company.\u00a0Some of these robot-based interventions have had very promising results.<\/p>\n

But, surprisingly, we still know very little about the emotional effects that social robots cause us.\u00a0There are still few voices discussing the convenience or not of generalizing the deal with artificial agents.\u00a0Is not a subject sufficiently controversial?\u00a0Do not robots have a huge transformational impact on our relationships, our affections and our thoughts?<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the scientific community of human-robot interaction has long been discussing\u00a0ethical considerations<\/a>\u00a0.\u00a0We should analyze among all if these links with robots can really contribute to a\u00a0good life<\/em>\u00a0.<\/p>\n

With the accumulated knowledge, we already know that our relationship with robots causes, together with wonderful utilities, undesirable effects, some of which I would like to point out here.<\/p>\n

Some challenges that we should face<\/h4>\n
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  1. Excessive exposure in children<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0Being in touch with social robots could compromise the healthy development of young children.\u00a0For example, a process as critical as moral development occurs above all from the interaction between equals.\u00a0Reciprocity sets in motion attitudes as important as concern for the welfare of others and the construction of values \u200b\u200bsuch as equality, equity and justice.\u00a0Children who grow up with robots know that they are objects and, therefore, morally inferior since they are the product of human creation.\u00a0Will they transfer the dominant mode of interacting with robots to dealing with another human being?<\/li>\n
  2. Deceitfulness<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0Studies<\/a>\u00a0show that people exposed to social robots quickly form representations of the minds of robots.\u00a0We attribute them social entity and impute them in a more or less naive way feelings and intelligence that they do not have.\u00a0Is not there something morally dubious about deceiving humans and making them think that they can establish meaningful interactions with an object?\u00a0Or is it just an inevitable logical step in our technological civilization?\u00a0Would it be possible to become friends with robots?\u00a0Are friendships between humans and robots desirable?\u00a0What implications will this have on future generations, which will grow in the daily presence of robots?\u00a0How will it affect human friendships?<\/li>\n
  3. Clinging<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0Is it justifiable from an ethical standpoint to build a robot that causes discomfort and regret by turning it off?\u00a0Is it appropriate to design a robot that is so attractive that people get attached to it emotionally, forming\u00a0a relationship<\/a>\u00a0comparable to an interpersonal relationship?\u00a0That his absence causes feelings of grief and longing?<\/li>\n
  4. Interference with social relationships<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0Robots designed to be more acceptable by vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, can be more easily introduced into their environments.\u00a0They can sometimes replace living beings.\u00a0If this happens, the robot, pretending to provide company, would become an isolation factor.\u00a0If we finally accept these unidirectional emotional links with robots, will not this harm our relationships with other human beings?<\/li>\n
  5. Interference with relationships with animals<\/strong>\u00a0.\u00a0Another one of the risks\u00a0indicated by the experts<\/a>\u00a0is in altering the human-animal union.\u00a0The density of artificial pets is growing in children’s lives.\u00a0This situation can alter our propensity to affiliate with the natural world, since robots play the role of family pets.\u00a0This situation could contribute to the growing disaffection with nature.\u00a0What is really paradoxical is that these artificial creatures take advantage of our attraction to nature to imitate life, away from it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n