Abstract
As they arrive in our homes, nursing facilities and educational institutions, urgent questions are being asked about the ethics of encouraging people to have feelings towards social robots that have roles as companions, carers and teachers. This article suggests that the quality of these debates is enhanced by examining how people perceive robots and, in particular, how robots’ expressive characteristics stimulate feelings through engaging the embodied imagination. I discuss the perception and expression of the zoomorphic therapeutic robot Paro, before considering the directions an understanding of these processes can take discussions about the aesthetics and ethics of social robots.
Highlights
Article history: Received 02/02/2016; Revised 22/08/2016; Accepted 01/09/2016; Published 18/11/2016. As they arrive in our homes, nursing facilities and educational institutions, urgent questions are being asked about the ethics of encouraging people to have feelings towards social robots that have roles as companions, carers and teachers
As social robots arrive in our homes, nursing facilities and educational institutions, urgent questions are being asked about the ethics of encouraging people to have feelings towards these devices that have roles as companions, carers and teachers
Most research relating to gender and robotics investigates how robot gender impacts on the human user, and how gender stereotypes projected by people interacting with robots can encourage acceptance of humanoid social robots.[59]
Summary
ISSN 1837-8692 | Published by UTS ePRESS | http://epress.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have