A pitiful sound from tinny speakers, sad virtual eyes, trembling robot arms: It doesn’t take much to feel sorry for a robot. This is the conclusion of a study by Marieke Wieringa, who will be defending her Ph.D. thesis at Radboud University on 5 November. But she warns that our human compassion could also be exploited; just wait until companies find a revenue model for emotional manipulation by robots.
Can you feel sorry for a robot? Research indicates you can
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