Humans May Empathize With Robots, May One Day Prefer Them to People
LatestWho among us knew that Wall-E, the lost puppy of robots, foreshadowed our emotional dependence on wire and metal? As the line distinguishing human from robot shifts and blurs, it turns out that those of us with flesh and blood may no longer reserve our empathy for other humans. A recent study published in Scientific Reports indicates that we can get attached to our robotic pals, too.
Newsweek reports that the study, conducted in Japan by researchers from Toyohashi University of Technology and Kyoto University, tested whether humans reacted differently to “photos of human or robot hands that would cause a great deal of pain in a person but, at worst, would lead to a short circuit in the robot.” The results revealed “‘common neural responses’ that signified feelings of empathy.”
Different theories exist as to why our research leads to these results—why we may develop affection for robots. From Newsweek: