Rethinking Trust Repair in Human-Robot Interaction

As robots become increasingly prevalent in work-oriented collaborations, trust has emerged as a critical factor in their acceptance and effectiveness. However, trust is dynamic and can erode when mistakes are made. Despite emerging research on trust repair in human-robot interaction, significant questions remain about identifying reliable approaches to restoring trust in robots after trust violations occur. To address this problem, my research aims to identify effective strategies for designing robots capable of trust repair in human-robot interaction (HRI) and to explore the underlying mechanisms that make these strategies successful. This paper provides an overview of the fundamental concepts and key components of the trust repair process in HRI, as well as a summary of my current published work in this area. Additionally, I discuss the research questions that will guide my future work and the potential contributions that this research could make to the field.Comment: Pre-Print of Submission for CSCW 2023 Doctoral Consortiu

Towards the Epistemology of the Internet of Things Techno-Epistemology and Ethical Considerations Through the Prism of Trust

This paper discusses the epistemology of the Internet of Things [IoT] by focusing on the topic of trust. It presents various frameworks of trust, and argues that the ethical framework of trust is what constitutes our responsibility to reveal desired norms and standards and embed them in other frameworks of trust. The first section briefly presents the IoT and scrutinizes the scarce philosophical work that has been done on this subject so far. The second section suggests that the field of epistemology is not sufficiently capable of dealing with technologies, and presents a possible solution to this problem. It is argued that knowledge is not only social phenomena, but also a technological one, and that in order to address epistemological issues in technology, we need to carefully depart from traditional epistemic analysis and form a new approach that is technological (termed here Techno-Epistemology). The third and fourth sections engage in an epistemic analysis of trust by dividing it in to various frameworks. The last section argues that these various frameworks of trust can be understood to form a trustworthy large-scale socio-technological system, emphasizing the place of ethical trust as constituting our commitment to give proper accounts for all of the other frameworks

Forgiveness Communication During End-of-Life: Perspectives From Surviving Loved Ones

This study investigated how surviving family members and their dying loved ones communicate about forgiveness during end-of-life conversations, and how that communication has affected the surviving family members individually, as well as in their relationships. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 10 participants. The interviews were conversational and open-ended, and provided data through participants’ stories and memories of their forgiveness-communication. Data was analyzed using textual analysis and grounded theory. Findings revealed three major patterns related to the level of communication about forgiveness: explicit/implicit forgiveness-communication during EOL; explicit/intrapersonal forgiveness-communication after death; nonverbal forgiveness-communication. Additionally, a relevant pattern – family communication patterns contribute to forgiveness-communication during EOL – was related to how forgiveness-communication was initiated and how prior family communication dynamics contributed to whether or how forgiveness was discussed (a sub-pattern included deterrents of forgiveness-communication in the past). Data also revealed relevant themes and sub-themes related to: how death impacts forgiveness-communication, including death creates urgency for forgiveness-communication (sub-theme: insincerity of EOL forgiveness-communication) and death makes forgiveness-communication difficult; what functions forgiveness has for participants and their relationships (functions of forgiveness) (sub-theme: forgiveness is selfish); and why participants and their loved ones forgave or didn’t forgive (reasons for forgiveness) (sub-theme: reasons for not forgiving). Findings related to the effect of these conversations on participants and their relationships revealed three themes: forgiveness-communication is meaningful, forgiveness-communication is not meaningful, and forgiveness-communication repairs and continues relationships after death

The Role of Accounts and Apologies in Mitigating Blame toward Human and Machine Agents

Would you trust a machine to make life-or-death decisions about your health and safety? Machines today are capable of achieving much more than they could 30 years ago—and the same will be said for machines that exist 30 years from now. The rise of intelligence in machines has resulted in humans entrusting them with ever-increasing responsibility. With this has arisen the question of whether machines should be given equal responsibility to humans—or if humans will ever perceive machines as being accountable for such responsibility. For example, if an intelligent machine accidentally harms a person, should it be blamed for its mistake? Should it be trusted to continue interacting with humans? Furthermore, how does the assignment of moral blame and trustworthiness toward machines compare to such assignment to humans who harm others? I answer these questions by exploring differences in moral blame and trustworthiness attributed to human and machine agents who make harmful moral mistakes. Additionally, I examine whether the knowledge and type of reason, as well as apology, for the harmful incident affects perceptions of the parties involved. In order to fill the gaps in understanding between topics in moral psychology, cognitive psychology, and artificial intelligence, valuable information from each of these fields have been combined to guide the research study being presented herein

The Effects of Post-Trangression Responses on Apology

Individuals struggle with offering an apology following a transgression. The present research examined how victims’ post-transgression response (PTR; forgiveness, grudge, revenge) interacts with PTR expression (direct and indirect) to affect offenders’ willingness to apologize. Additionally, social pain and self-control were tested as mediators within this relationship. Results demonstrated that victims’ PTRs interacted with PTR expression to differentially affect offenders’ apologies. Indirect forgiveness and direct unforgiveness were more likely to facilitate apologies compared to direct forgiveness and indirect unforgiveness. Moderated-mediation analyses demonstrated that social pain mediated the relation between victim PTRs and PTR expression on apology. Specifically, when expressed directly, unforgiving responses led offenders to experience greater social pain, which in turn, prompted them to apologize. Those who received indirect forgiveness compared to direct forgiveness experienced greater social pain, which in turn, led to higher apology. Self-control did not mediate the relation. Implications for victims’ PTRs and offenders’ apologies are discussed

The Self in Time: The Impact of Past-Focus on Well-Being and Intergroup Relations

Time perspective is a fundamental human capacity that shapes thoughts, feelings, and behaviors about the self and others. The present research explores the associations between subjective time, both positive and negative individual and intergroup outcomes, and determines whether temporal focus is affected by situational factors. In Study 1, temporal focus, as an individual difference, and its relation to positive and negative well-being was measured utilizing a newly developed temporal focus inventory. Higher past-focus scores were associated with higher uncertainty avoidance, whereas higher present-focus scores were associated with higher well-being. In Study 2, lack of certainty and control were experimentally manipulated to test their effect on temporal focus. Lack of certainty and control did not affect past-, present-, or future-focus. However, higher perceived conflict resulted in a greater focus on the past. In Study 3, the associations among temporal focus, well-being, and intergroup relations. Lower scores on past-focus and higher scores on future-focus were related to higher scores on intergroup trust. In Study 4, the effects of past- and future-focus combined with culture on intergroup outcomes were studied. Cultural differences suggest that the likelihood of a resolution in a time of conflict while focused on the past may be reduced, whereas a future-focus may lead to more opportunities for reconciliation. The results suggest that temporal focus has important implications for both personal and social outcomes, but also that temporal focus may be amenable to modification under some circumstances