Revealing the ‘face’ of the robot introducting the ethics of Levinas to the field of robo-ethics

This paper explore the possibility of a new philosophical turn in robot-ethics, considering whether the concepts of Emanuel Levinas particularly his conception of the ‘face of the other’ can be used to understand how non-expert users interact with robots. The term ‘Robot’ comes from fiction and for non-experts and experts alike interaction with robots may be coloured by this history. This paper explores the ethics of robots (and the use of the term robot) that is based on the user seeing the robot as infinitely complex

Pepper, Just Show Me The Way! How Robotic Shopping Assistants Should Look And Act

Artificial intelligence enables modern robots to serve as service and sales assistants. Today\u27s robotic shopping assistants (RSAs) can appear either humanoid or non-humanoid and possess utilitarian and/or hedonic attributes. However, many questions remain unexplored regarding an effective customer-centric RSA design. Do customers prefer a humanoid or non-humanoid RSA with hedonic or utilitarian attributes? To answer those questions, the research deploys a mixed-method approach involving a survey of customers who have interacted with the Pepper Robot, a humanoid robot (Study 1), and follow-up experiments examining customer responses to a humanoid/non-humanoid RSA with hedonic/utilitarian attributes (Studies 2 and 3). The research employs an innovative approach that analyzes both unstructured and structured data simultaneously. Study results suggest that customers prefer humanoid RSAs with utilitarian attributes over those with hedonic attributes. The research contributes to the literature by proposing hedonic (vs. utilitarian) attributes of RSAs as new drivers of anthropomorphic perceptions

Portrayals and perceptions of cinematic artificial intelligence: a mixed-method analysis of I, Robot (2004) and Chappie (2015)

This study investigates the portrayal and perception of artificial intelligence (AI) in I, Robot (2004) and Chappie (2015), providing one of the first accounts of the causality between attitudes and expectations in the representation and reception of films about AI. The findings suggest that the level of optimism of a film is likely to be linked to its socio-cultural context. The humanoid representation of each robotic protagonist prevented each film from skewing too far towards the extremes of technological optimism or pessimism. This affected respondents’ attitudes immediately after viewership, but this affect was short-lived. Additionally, while portrayals of the future somewhat aligned to contemporary developments regarding weak AI, they were overly optimistic or pessimistic about the future of strong AI. This had little impact on respondents’ fears and expectations, as respondents used the films as visual aids to mentally depict abstract concepts relating to AI that were arrived at elsewhere.Communication ScienceM.A. (Communication Science

Machine Performers: Agents in a Multiple Ontological State

In this thesis, the author explores and develops new attributes for machine performers and merges the trans-disciplinary fields of the performing arts and artificial intelligence. The main aim is to redefine the term “embodiment” for robots on the stage and to demonstrate that this term requires broadening in various fields of research. This redefining has required a multifaceted theoretical analysis of embodiment in the field of artificial intelligence (e.g. the uncanny valley), as well as the construction of new robots for the stage by the author. It is hoped that these practical experimental examples will generate more research by others in similar fields. Even though the historical lineage of robotics is engraved with theatrical strategies and dramaturgy, further application of constructive principles from the performing arts and evidence from psychology and neurology can shift the perception of robotic agents both on stage and in other cultural environments. In this light, the relation between representation, movement and behaviour of bodies has been further explored to establish links between constructed bodies (as in artificial intelligence) and perceived bodies (as performers on the theatrical stage). In the course of this research, several practical works have been designed and built, and subsequently presented to live audiences and research communities. Audience reactions have been analysed with surveys and discussions. Interviews have also been conducted with choreographers, curators and scientists about the value of machine performers. The main conclusions from this study are that fakery and mystification can be used as persuasive elements to enhance agency. Morphologies can also be applied that tightly couple brain and sensorimotor actions and lead to a stronger stage presence. In fact, if this lack of presence is left out of human replicants, it causes an “uncanny” lack of agency. Furthermore, the addition of stage presence leads to stronger identification from audiences, even for bodies dissimilar to their own. The author demonstrates that audience reactions are enhanced by building these effects into machine body structures: rather than identification through mimicry, this causes them to have more unambiguously biological associations. Alongside these traits, atmospheres such as those created by a cast of machine performers tend to cause even more intensely visceral responses. In this thesis, “embodiment” has emerged as a paradigm shift – as well as within this shift – and morphological computing has been explored as a method to deepen this visceral immersion. Therefore, this dissertation considers and builds machine performers as “true” performers for the stage, rather than mere objects with an aura. Their singular and customized embodiment can enable the development of non-anthropocentric performances that encompass the abstract and conceptual patterns in motion and generate – as from human performers – empathy, identification and experiential reactions in live audiences

Great Expectations? Relation of Previous Experiences With Social Robots in Real Life or in the Media and Expectancies Based on Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment

Social robots, which mostly look and behave like humans, are often perceived as somehow alive and treated similar to humans, despite the fact that they are non-living electronic devices. Based on considerations of the uncertainty reduction theory, the question arises what expectancies regarding social robots people have and what sources they use to achieve these expectancies. To receive an in-depth understanding of people’s expectancies regarding social robots and particularly how these expectancies are influenced by people’s experiences with real robots but also with fictional robots from media, thirteen semi-structured interviews and a quantitative online study (n = 433) were conducted. Results indicate that people’s experiences with robots in the media lead to high expectations regarding the skills of robots, which in turn increase people’s general expectancies regarding social robots being part of the society as well as their personal lives. Furthermore, knowledge of negatively perceived fictional robots increases negative expectancies of robots becoming a threat to humans, while technical affinity reduces general robot anxiety

AI in space: Past, present, and possible futures

While artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly present in recent space applications, new missions being planned will require even more incorporation of AI techniques. In this paper, we survey some of the progress made to date in implementing such programs, some current directions and issues, and speculate about the future of AI in space scenarios. We also provide examples of how thinkers from the realm of science fiction have envisioned AI's role in various aspects of space exploration

Virtual Assistants as Characters—Or Not

New technologies like voice assistants such as Siri, Alexa, and the Google Assistant give the impression that the lines between humans and machines are blurring as machines gradually take up social roles once occupied by humans. To counter that anxiety, this essay argues that these technologies are becoming more like characters, adapting to the templates we initially constructed for fictional beings whose space voice assistants occupy instead. It provides a textual reading of the Japanese voice assistant Hikari Azuma as advertised by the company Vinclu's website in order to demonstrate how Hikari functions as a kyara, a character without story, whose development depends on the user. The essay proposes that we have to adjust our conceptual understanding of characters as distinct from human beings and technology. Instead, the essay concludes that we should perceive current technologies like voice assistants as technologies operating on a spectrum in which some machines will look more like characters and others more like software-in-action with no human-likeness at all.Peer reviewe