Vulnerable robots positively shape human conversational dynamics in a human–robot team

Margaret L. Traeger, Sarah Strohkorb Sebo, Malte Jung, Brian Scassellati and Nicholas A. Christakis ()
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Margaret L. Traeger: Yale Institute for Network Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520; Department of Sociology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520
Sarah Strohkorb Sebo: Department of Computer Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520
Malte Jung: Department of Information Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
Brian Scassellati: Department of Computer Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520
Nicholas A. Christakis: Yale Institute for Network Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520; Department of Sociology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520; Department of Statistics and Data Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2020, vol. 117, issue 12, 6370-6375

Abstract: Social robots are becoming increasingly influential in shaping the behavior of humans with whom they interact. Here, we examine how the actions of a social robot can influence human-to-human communication, and not just robot–human communication, using groups of three humans and one robot playing 30 rounds of a collaborative game ( n = 51 groups). We find that people in groups with a robot making vulnerable statements converse substantially more with each other, distribute their conversation somewhat more equally, and perceive their groups more positively compared to control groups with a robot that either makes neutral statements or no statements at the end of each round. Shifts in robot speech have the power not only to affect how people interact with robots, but also how people interact with each other, offering the prospect for modifying social interactions via the introduction of artificial agents into hybrid systems of humans and machines.

Keywords: human–robot interaction; groups and teams; conversational dynamics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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