Perception of embodied digital technologies: robots and telepresence systems

Abstract

Embodied Digital Technologies (EDTs) are increasingly populating private and public spaces. How EDTs are perceived in Hybrid Societies requires prior consideration. However, findings on social perception of EDTs remain inconclusive. We investigated social perception and trustworthiness of robots and telepresence systems (TPS) and aimed at identifying how observers’ personality traits were associated with social perception of EDTs. To this end, we conducted two studies (N1 = 293, N2 = 305). Participants rated five different EDTs in a short video sequence of a space sharing conflict with a human in terms of anthropomorphism, sociability/morality, activity/cooperation, competence, and trustworthiness. The TPS were equipped with a tablet on which a person was visible. We found that the rudimentarily human-like TPS was perceived as more anthropomorphic than the automated guided vehicle, but no differences emerged in terms of other social dimensions. For robots, we found mixed results but overall higher ratings in terms of social dimensions for a human-like robot as opposed to a mechanical one. Trustworthiness was attributed differently to the EDTs only in Study 2, with a preference toward TPS and more human-like robots. In Study 1, we did not find any such differences. Personality traits were associated with attributions of social dimensions in Study 1, however results were not replicable and thus, associations remained ambiguous. With the present studies, we added insights on social perception of robots and provided evidence that social perception of TPS should be taken into consideration before their deployment.