Why We Bond With Robots, Even When We Know They’re Machines

Humans know robots are machines. So why do we still care when one gets hurt?

Kate Darling, Research Lead for Robotics, Ethics & Society at RAI Institute, joins Brian Heater to explore the human side of robotics, from emotional attachment and AI companions to humanoid safety, automation, and the future of work.

Kate explains why companionship may become the killer application for social robots, why empathy is not a finite resource, and how the business models behind companion technology can turn a helpful relationship into another way to capture attention, time, and money.

They also discuss why humanoid robots create new safety questions, why factory and warehouse workers need a voice before automation is deployed, and why the phrase “dull, dirty, and dangerous” is more complicated than the robotics industry often admits.

Kate also challenges the familiar claim that robots are coming for people’s jobs. Technology does not make those decisions on its own. Companies choose whether automation replaces workers or improves the larger system around them.

Finally, Kate tells the story of a workshop involving five Pleo robot dinosaurs, a hammer, a hatchet, and a room full of people who refused to hurt the machines.

KEY MOMENTS
00:00 Why social robots are still in their PalmPilot era
01:26 Meet Kate Darling
03:00 Colin Angle’s latest robot pet and the social robot winter
05:27 Companionship as the killer app for robots
07:06 Is empathy a finite resource?
08:28 Companion technology serves the company instead of the user
10:09 Can a market for robot pets exist?
12:54 How robots could follow the evolution of animal companionship
17:20 Why companies can disappear when blame is assigned
19:36 Bringing social scientists inside a robotics institute
20:37 Replacing opinions about robots with evidence
21:14 The humanoid robot emergency stop problem
21:50 Why workers are safety experts too
24:08 Starting with the application instead of the technology
25:38 Who defines dull, dirty, and dangerous work?
28:32 The automation blind spots roboticists can miss
29:49 Robots are not coming for jobs; company decisions are
32:33 How regulation can drive innovation
37:40 Why robot deployments fail without social context
39:09 The workers most affected are often never consulted
41:14 Designing robots beyond an American point of view
44:11 Engineers want to help but need constructive guidance
46:37 Why engineers and social scientists need to work together
47:55 Building the Bell Labs of robotics and AI
49:52 Kate’s first visit to Boston Dynamics
51:51 The robot dinosaur that started Kate’s career
53:21 The Pleo sacrifice experiment
56:13 Why people share more information with machines

Connect with Kate Darling
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-darling-37a181149

Learn more about Kate’s work
https://www.katedarling.org/

Learn more about RAI Institute
https://rai-inst.com/

Read The New Breed
https://www.amazon.com/New-Breed-History-Animals-Reveals/dp/1250296102

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