Robots are friends as well as foes: Ambivalent attitudes toward mindful and mindless AI robots in the United States and China

Abstract

In light of the ongoing and rapid development of innovative technologies, two intriguing issues arise: do people have more positive or more negative attitudes toward robots with high (versus low) mental capabilities, and do attitudes toward robots differ between Western and East Asian cultures? Past work on these topics has produced contradictory results. Inspired by the perspective that attitudes are ambivalent rather than bipolar, we argue that these controversial findings stem from people's ambivalent attitudes toward robots. To test the assumption that ambivalent attitudes toward robots differ by type of robots and by cultural background, we conducted an experimental study. By manipulating the level of robot mind and recruiting both American and Chinese participants, we examined how robot mind and culture influence ambivalent attitudes toward robots. We simultaneously measured participants' perceptions of robots as “ally” or “enemy”. The results revealed that robots with high (versus low) mental abilities elicited more ambivalent attitudes and that American participants reported more ambivalence toward robots than Chinese participants. These findings enhance our understanding of human–robot interaction and provide guidance for modulating people's attitudes toward robots.