Abstract
Given recent technological developments in robotics, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality, it is perhaps unsurprising that the arrival of emotionally expressive and reactive artificial agents is imminent. However, if such agents are to become integrated into our social milieu, it is imperative to establish an understanding of whether and how humans perceive emotion in artificial agents. In this review, we incorporate recent findings from social robotics, virtual reality, psychology, and neuroscience to examine how people recognize and respond to emotions displayed by artificial agents. First, we review how people perceive emotions expressed by an artificial agent, such as facial and bodily expressions. Second, we evaluate the similarities and differences in the consequences of perceived emotions in artificial compared to human agents. Besides accurately recognizing the emotional state of an artificial agent, it is critical to understand how humans respond to those emotions. Does interacting with an angry robot induce the same responses in people as interacting with an angry person? Similarly, does watching a robot rejoice when it wins a game elicit similar feelings of elation in the human observer? Here, we provide an overview of the current state of emotion expression and perception during interactions with artificial agents, as well as a clear articulation of the challenges and guiding principles to be addressed as we move ever closer to truly emotional artificial agents.
Highlights
W E SPEND our entire lives navigating a vast and complex social environment
We aim to provide an integrative overview of the perception of emotions in artificial agents by human observers by discussing insights and perspectives from the field of social robotics, virtual reality, psychology, and neuroscience
In the second part of this review, we describe the behavioral consequences of an emotional artificial agent by separately considering positive reactions, such as empathy for robots, as well as negative reactions, such aggression toward robots
Summary
W E SPEND our entire lives navigating a vast and complex social environment. From our homes to our schools, from work to online life, our lives revolve around interactions with other people. From conversing with a humanoid robot to check into a hotel room, to collaborating with a virtual agent in a medical rehabilitation context, social interactions with artificial agents are predicted to play an ever great role in our daily lives. This prospect raises important questions regarding how these agents will be accepted and incorporated into our social milieu. We aim to provide an integrative overview of the perception of emotions in artificial agents by human observers by discussing insights and perspectives from the field of social robotics, virtual reality, psychology, and neuroscience. While the technical aspects of emotion recognition within artificial agents are beyond the scope of the present review, the literature covered here certainly has the potential to inform future technical developments of social artificial agents as well
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