Summary
Summary of the course Social Robotics VU
- Course
- Institution
A summary of the course lectures and notes for Social Robotics
[Show more]
Seller
FollowMarijtjee
Reviews received
Content preview
Summary of the course Social Robotics S_SR Vrije Universiteit AmsterdamSocial Robotics in general terms:
Ø Focuses on human behavior and communication in the context of social interaction with robots
Ø Student acquires knowledge and insight in to the factors necessary for robot development,
implementation and evaluation of effective artificial communication and robot interactions
Ø Based on scientific theories and evidence (i.e. Media Psychology, student advances in to theorizing about
human-robot interaction
Ø Focus primarily on the needs of specific target groups (e.g. eldercare & education) and on environmental
and behavioral factors that contribute to successful exchanges between humans and robots
Ø Addresses how human behavioral simulations may improve existing theories of human (communicative)
behavior
Ø Attention to factors that can facilitate or inhibit the effectiveness of robot communications
Ø Students should be able to:
o Understand and discuss current thematic and research issues in social robotics
o Critically discuss the role of theory building (i.e. formal modeling) within social robotics
o Reflect on ethical and normative issues in robot research and design
Ø Students will have:
o A critical-reflective attitude about up-to-date and interdisciplinary scientific research in the field
of social robotics
Block 1 – Observation and Theory (lecture 1, 2, 4 + 5 & observation+theory workgroups):
Ø Emphasis is on:
o Introduction into human-robot interaction
o Its historical roots in automatons and computing
Ø Lecture 1+2 focus on:
o Observing people interacting with various social robots in various settings
(care, school, hotel etc.)
o Gaining first understanding of what a social robot is
Ø Lecture 4 + 5 focus on:
o Central theories from Media Psychology, Computer-Human interaction and Artificial Intelligence
o Work with Media Equation, Computers Are Social Actors, Theory of Affective Bonding, Theory of
Mind & Uncanny Valley
Lecture 1 – Observe people interacting with a robot:
Ø Lecture 1 will:
o Introduce history of automatons up to the Turing Machine
o Discuss how our thinking about humans is still affected by 18th century Enlightenment
o Will get student acquainted with a range of social robots for various tasks
(care vs. warfare)
o Discuss ethical concerns one may have with such developments
o Define what a social robot actually is
Ø Where do robots come from?
o Karel Čapek invented the word ( or his brother) but not the concept
§ Term was used in the play ‘Rossum’s Universal Robots by Karel Čapek
o Then who invented the concept?
Ø Some history:
,Ø The Turk:
o A chessplaying machine built in 1770 by the Hungarian Kempelen Farkas for he Empress of
Austria.
o Hid a human chess player inside
o Fooled people for 84 years
o But that is what we still do (i.e. with remote controlled robots)
Ø Technology might now be advanced, the idea of a robot is very old
o Only the software has changed
o Artificial Intelligence can do little bits and pieces, but not all
o AI can’t handle unpredictable environments
o ‘Why’ is unknown to machines à they lack meta-cognition
Ø 18th Century enlightenment:
o Rationalism came up, people began to have a mechanical world view
o Common thought was ‘Dare to know’ and era is also called ‘The age of the clock’
§ Clock work universe
§ God is an engineer
§ Humans are machines
§ Industrialization
Ø Alan Turing (1950):
o Arch-father of Artificial Intelligence
o During WWII, broke the German naval Enigma machine with a self-devised electro mechanical
machine
§ Enigma: Machine for encryption of command and intel
Ø Turing Machine:
o Model of general purpose computer that can run any modern-day algorithm
o Its ‘tape’ or memory moves left or right over three symbols: 1, 0 and blank
o Three symbols each initiate certain commands
Ø Different kinds of robots:
o Robot receptionist
o Robot hotel
o Robot security guard
o Robot tutor
o Robot caretaker
o Robot game character
o Robot soldier
o Robot sex partner
Ø For exceptions we want humans, for repeating & memorizing we could use machines
o For example: the robot could show elderly people which exercise they need to do, while the
therapist is walking around to help individually
Ø There are 2 sides to the coin all the time: pro’s and con’s
o In favor for example:
§ War robots may be more accurate and therefore cause less collateral damage
§ Sex robots perhaps reduce the frequency of rapes
§ Robot partner good for those disappointed in human relationships
o Against for example:
§ War robots cannot handle chaos (just like any other robot). Who are they going to shoot
then?
§ What if psychopaths use sex robots to practice what they later are going to do to real
people?
§ Replacement of human relationships is not good
Ø What is a social robot?
o Two types of robots:
§ Human-driven (teleoperation)
§ AI driven
Ø Human-driven robots
o “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain”
o For example the Turk: it is mere tricks
o Using Wizard of Oz
Ø AI-driven robots
o Deep learning machines for example, follow anything it comes across, including other bots
o AI in itself is not scary (although that’s what people might think), It’s the humans using AI that are
scarey
, o Singularity: when computers will be smarter than us (what people might be afraid of)
Ø A social robot has at least agency, and may have free will
Ø Agency:
o Pursues goals or has concerns
o Intentionality (sets it apart from water, wind, and stones)
o Organic system (plant, animal, human) or
o Artificial system (commonly software)
o Potentially capable of acting autonomously, at least in part
Ø Free will:
o Not a prerequisite
o Behavior may be determined by circumstances (cf. slavery)
o Autonomic nervous system (regulates glands and internal organs) is hardly controllable
consciously. Yet, does pursue goal of maintenance and continuity of the organism it is a part of
Ø Software Agent:
o Agency simulated by a (semi)autonomous software system
Ø Robot:
o Software agent (inter)acting through electromechanical devices
Ø Social robot or Android:
o Robot specialized in humanoid simulations (not of other organisms)
Ø Care robot, Tutor robot etc.:
o Social robot (android) applied to healthcare (care robot) or education (tutor bot) or…
Ø Summary of the lecture:
There is a long history of making machines after humans. The Chinese were the first (3‐2000 years ago) with
robot dancers and servants. Leonardo designed a fighting knight, Maillardet a boy that can draw and write poetry.
These attempts come from a very rational approach to what a human is. Making a robot after humans assumes we
are not much more than electronics and mechanics.
Even adding intelligence, like Turing did, is still a rational contribution, whereas people interact with their robots
mainly on an affective level.
People have fun being served by a Velociraptor, being entertained by Zora in an elderhome, want to shoot water
bottles with Kuratas, and have sex with a RealDoll.
Quite some discussion goes on about what the proper employment of robots would be, morally speaking.
Is robot sex the breakdown of human love and understanding or a blessing in the treatment of serial rapists?
There are many therapeutic advantages in applying social robots, the greatest being that people easily disclose
their life events and worries without suspecting to be judged for it
And that is strange. Because what is a social robot other than a simulation of human‐like behavior by computer
software wrapped in electro‐mechanical devices such as sensors and actuators?
The simulated ‘agency’ does not even have to be fully autonomous
In fact, a robot that is not driven by Artificial Intelligence but is remotely controlled by a human after a few
minutes evokes the same results
People tend to forget the ‘man behind the curtains’ (Wizard of Oz) and focus on the robot as a communication
partner of its own
That offers plenty of opportunities to experiment with social robots without having to program a full-fledged AI
first
It moreover teaches us that people make plenty of attributions and project all kinds of qualities onto robots, which
actually are not there (see Lecture 04: Human Reality Perception of Social Robots)
, L1: Exam Sample Item
Category “Application”
Ishiguro’s Geminoid resembles the...
A Turing machine
à B Mechanical Turk
C Singularity
D Automaton of Maillardet
Geminoid is driven by a human operator, not by AI
Turing machine and the Automaton are fully automated
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller Marijtjee. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $4.82. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
53068 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now