Why We Need Robots with Kind Faces with Bertram Malle Behavioral Grooves Podcast

Bertram Malle, PhD teaches social cognitive science and social psychology at Brown University, he’s the author of dozens of articles and has focused his recent work on how humans feel about robots, and researches how the etiquette and facial abilities of robots impact how we perceive them.
His research indicates that the more human-looking a robot is – especially in its “face” – the more humans are likely to attribute emotions or moral codes to them. Bertram’s work reminds us that the context we experience robots in influences the relationships we build.
Maybe more importantly, Bertram reminded us that robots must be designed to exist in very specific contexts. The appearance and communication abilities of a robot that checks us into a doctor’s office needs to be very different from the robots we use to assist us with making an airline reservation.
While that may be intuitive on one level, it highlights the remarkable complexity required in the design and manufacturing of these robots. Each one needs to be built for a specific purpose – there is no one-size-fits-all with robots. Bertram reminded us that it’s difficult to imagine that robots will ever reach the complexity and flexibility of their human counterparts.
We also parsed out the differences between hope and optimism. This topic was particularly important to because we’re too often conflating the two. Hope, Bertram explained, is something we have when we lack confidence or influence in the outcome. And optimism exists where we might have some degree of influence over the outcome.
We hope you enjoy our conversation with Bertram Malle.
 
© 2021 Behavioral Grooves
 
Links
Bertram Malle, PhD email:  bfmalle@brown.edu
Social Cognitive Science Research Lab (Brown University): http://research.clps.brown.edu/SocCogSci/index.html
Bertram Malle, “Theory of Mind”: https://nobaproject.com/modules/theory-of-mind
Bertram Malle & Patty Bruininks “Distinguishing Hope from Optimism and Related Affective States”: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/226421327_Distinguishing_Hope_from_Optimism_and_Related_Affective_States
Bertram Malle Selected Publications: http://research.clps.brown.edu/SocCogSci/Publications/publications.html
ABOT: http://www.abotdatabase.info/
MIT Lab on Automated Vehicles: https://www.media.mit.edu/research/?filter=everything&tag=autonomous-vehicles
“Her” film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Her_(film)
“Ex Machina” film: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_Machina_(film)
TAY: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tay_(bot)
Isaac Asimov: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Asimov
Jóhann Jóhannsson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B3hann_J%C3%B3hannsson
Hildur Guðnadóttir: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildur_Gu%C3%B0nad%C3%B3ttir
Fritz Heider, PhD & Marianne Simmel, PhD, “An experimental study of apparent behavior”: https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1945-01435-001  
Common Biases and Heuristics: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XHpBr0VFcaT8wIUpr-9zMIb79dFMgOVFRxIZRybiftI/edit?usp=sharing
Minnesota Timberwolves: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Timberwolves
 
Musical Links
Radiohead “Hail to the Thief”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MdwaUtW_D4
Esbjörn Svensson Trio “Seven Days of Falling”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7KXq6RJ0PA
Bill Dixon “Motorcycle ‘66”: https://youtu.be/ZcO8zfp-FLg
Tyshawn Sorey “Unfiltered”: https://tyshawn-sorey.bandcamp.com/album/unfiltered
Sigur Ros “Brennisteinn”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oc6zXSdYXm8
Hildur Gu∂nadottir “Unveiled”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzaxVFc9oIs
Anders Hillborg “Violin Concerto No. 1”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrJ7rhQDjsE
Daniel Lanois with the Venetian Snares: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9u93SDxNsk
Daniel Lanois with Parachute Club: https://www.discogs.com/The-Parachute-Club-Rise-Up/release/1209691
The Bad Plus “Never Stop II”: https://thebadplus.bandcamp.com/album/never-stop-ii
Iceland Symphony