Caruana, N., Moffat, R., Miguel-Blanco, A. and Cross, E. S. (2023) Perceptions of intelligence & sentience shape children's interactions with robot reading companions. Scientific Reports, 13, 7341. (doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-32104-7) (PMID:37147422) (PMCID:PMC10162967)
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Abstract
The potential for robots to support education is being increasingly studied and rapidly realised. However, most research evaluating education robots has neglected to examine the fundamental features that make them more or less effective, given the needs and expectations of learners. This study explored how children’s perceptions, expectations and experiences are shaped by aesthetic and functional features during interactions with different robot ‘reading buddies’. We collected a range of quantitative and qualitative measures of subjective experience before and after children read a book with one of three different robots. An inductive thematic analysis revealed that robots have the potential offer children an engaging and non-judgemental social context to promote reading engagement. This was supported by children’s perceptions of robots as being intelligent enough to read, listen and comprehend the story, particularly when they had the capacity to talk. A key challenge in the use of robots for this purpose was the unpredictable nature of robot behaviour, which remains difficult to perfectly control and time using either human operators or autonomous algorithms. Consequently, some children found the robots’ responses distracting. We provide recommendations for future research seeking to position seemingly sentient and intelligent robots as an assistive tool within and beyond education settings.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Additional Information: | Dr Caruana was supported by a Macquarie University Research Fellowship (9201701145). Prof Cross was supported in part by funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement 677270) and the Leverhulme Trust (PLP-2018–152). |
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Cross, Professor Emily |
| Authors: | Caruana, N., Moffat, R., Miguel-Blanco, A., and Cross, E. S. |
| College/School: | College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience |
| Journal Name: | Scientific Reports |
| Publisher: | Nature Research |
| ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
| ISSN (Online): | 2045-2322 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2023 The Authors |
| First Published: | First published in Scientific Reports 13: 7341 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
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