Abstract
In this paper we present a theoretical framework to understand the underlying psychological mechanism involved in human-Companion Robot interactions. At first, we take the case of Sexual Robotics, where the psychological dynamics are more evident, to thereafter extend the discussion to Companion Robotics in general. First, we discuss the differences between a sex-toy and a Sexual Robots, concluding that the latter may establish a collusive and confirmative dynamics with the user. We claim that the collusiveness leads to two main consequences, such as the fixation on a specific and atypical type of sexual interaction, called paraphilic, and to the infantilization of the user, which we explain through the theoretical framework of “object-relation theory”. We argue that these dynamics may degrade to an infantile stage the relational abilities of users, extending this argument to Companion Robots in general. Then, we enquire if and how the relational dynamics enacted in HRI may shift to human relations: we discuss the analogy with virtual reality concluding that, under certain condition, a symbolic shift might happen. In the last part of this work, we propose an experimental setup to verify if a collusive and confirmative interaction with a Companion Robot can, over time, impact on the user’s ability to manage relational frustration.
Highlights
Over the last 20 years, the research on Social Robots (SRs), namely machines conceived and designed to produce a social interaction with users, has gained growing interest both in the academic field and in the public opinion
We provide a possible framework in the chapter proposing a comparison between Sexual Robotics and the immersive experiences allowed by Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)
As we have preliminarily mentioned in the introduction, a substantial part of the academic discussion on Sexual Robotics focuses on underlining how their introduction in the human social context can lead to transformation in the human sociality
Summary
Over the last 20 years, the research on Social Robots (SRs), namely machines conceived and designed to produce a social interaction with users, has gained growing interest both in the academic field and in the public opinion. We will discuss the development of attachment and its bidirectional relationship with the affectivity and sexuality systems in an adult subject; subsequently, we introduce the "object relation theory" Through this theoretical framework, we argue how the interaction with a sexual robot and his collusiveness, can lead to a regression to infantile relational dynamics, to a possible decrease in the ability to manage relational frustration. From that point of view, the robot is seen as a simple object Following this equation, there is not any possibility for the user of being deceived about the artificial nature of current robots, human-SexR interactions consequences are not different from ones that bring a common sex toy. We will show how the relationship with Sexual Robots produces peculiar dynamics compared to both the interaction with Sex-Toys and with other human beings
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