Interactions with Social Robots (Social AI)

Content:

Artificial Intelligence and social robots are increasingly becoming part of our daily life, giving rise to some important questions: Will AI systems become more empathic or smarter than we are, and use that increased intelligence to rule us? And if they acquire these abilities, will we come to prefer them to human partners?

In this lecture we will gain knowledge and share reflections on the difference between engaging with another human versus a social robotic partner; and how social robots have changed the way we live, think, interact, and work - or how this will change in the nearby future. After a brief introduction to human social interaction models, mainstream research into human-robot interactions will be presented (e.g., Computers are Social Actors - CASA), covering types of social robots (in terms of functions, design, limitations) currently in use in different contexts and for different purposes. Finally, we will discuss why (and in which contexts) humans need social robots as interactional partners.

What you should learn: Understand some key concepts about social interactions between robots and humans, with particular emphasis on: 1) how tasks, environment, and robots' design shape interactions and collaboration between social robots and humans; 2) what kind of interactions are afforded by different types of robots, e.g., virtual peer agents, embodied autonomous systems, human-robot vocal interfaces.