Researchers at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT-Italian Institute of Technology) have demonstrated that under specific conditions, humans can treat robots as co-authors of the results of their actions. The condition that enables this phenomenon is that a robot behaves in a human-like, social manner. Engaging in gaze contact and participating in a common emotional experience, such as watching a movie, are the key.
The study was published in Science Robotics and paves the way for understanding and designing the optimal circumstances for humans and robots to collaborate in the same environment.
The research study has been coordinated by Agnieszka Wykowska, head of IIT’s Social Cognition in Human-Robot Interaction lab in Genova, and a researcher on a project titled “Intentional Stance for Social Attunement,” which addresses the question of when and under what conditions people treat robots as intentional agents.
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