“The Robot Made Me Do It” – Robots Can Encourage Risk-Taking Behavior in People

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SoftBank Robotics Pepper Robot

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A SoftBank Robotics Pepper robotic was utilized in the 2 robotic conditions. Pepper, 1.21-meter-tall with 25 degrees of liberty, is a medium-sized humanoid robotic created mainly for Human-Robot Interaction (HRI). Credit: University of Southampton

New research study has actually revealed robotics can motivate people to take higher threats in a simulated gaming circumstance than they would if there was absolutely nothing to affect their habits. Increasing our understanding of whether robotics can impact risk-taking might have clear ethical, useful, and policy ramifications, which this research study set out to check out.

Dr. Yaniv Hanoch, Associate Professor in Risk Management at the University of Southampton who led the research study described, “We know that peer pressure can lead to higher risk-taking behavior. With the ever-increasing scale of interaction between humans and technology, both online and physically, it is crucial that we understand more about whether machines can have a similar impact.”

This brand-new research study, released in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, included 180 undergraduate trainees taking the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), a computer system evaluation that asks individuals to push the spacebar on a keyboard to pump up a balloon showed on the screen. With each press of the spacebar, the balloon pumps up somewhat, and 1 cent is contributed to the gamer’s “temporary money bank.” The balloons can blow up arbitrarily, suggesting the gamer loses any cash they have actually won for that balloon and they have the choice to “cash-in” prior to this occurs and proceed to the next balloon.

One-3rd of the individuals took the test in a space by themselves (the control group), one 3rd took the test along with a robotic that just offered them with the directions however was quiet the remainder of the time and the last, the speculative group, took the test with the robotic offering direction in addition to speaking motivating declarations such as “why did you stop pumping?”

The results revealed that the group who were motivated by the robotic took more threats, exploding their balloons considerably more often than those in the other groups did. They likewise made more cash in general. There was no considerable distinction in the habits of the trainees accompanied by the quiet robotic and those without any robotic.

Dr. Hanoch stated: “We saw participants in the control condition scale back their risk-taking behavior following a balloon explosion, whereas those in the experimental condition continued to take as much risk as before. So, receiving direct encouragement from a risk-promoting robot seemed to override participants’ direct experiences and instincts.”

The scientist now thinks that more research studies are required to see whether comparable outcomes would emerge from human interaction with other expert system (AI) systems, such as digital assistants or on-screen avatars.

Dr. Hanoch concluded, “With the wide spread of AI technology and its interactions with humans, this is an area that needs urgent attention from the research community.”

“On the one hand, our results might raise alarms about the prospect of robots causing harm by increasing risky behavior. On the other hand, our data points to the possibility of using robots, and AI, in preventive programs such as anti-smoking campaigns in schools, and with hard to reach populations, such as addicts.”

A SoftBank Robotics Pepper robotic was utilized in the 2 robotic conditions. Pepper, 1.21-meter-tall with 25 degrees of liberty, is a medium-sized humanoid robotic created mainly for Human-Robot Interaction (HRI).

Reference: “The Robot Made Me Do It: Human–Robot Interaction and Risk-Taking Behavior” by Yaniv Hanoch, Francesco Arvizzigno, Daniel Hernandez García, Sue Denham, Tony Belpaeme and Michaela Gummerum, 17 May 2021, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.
DOI: 10.1089/cyber.2020.0148