LCSR Seminar: Lionel Robert

Description

Lionel Robert, a professor in the School of Information at the University of Michigan, will give a talk titled "Human Trust in Robots: Teammate or Tool? Does it Matter?" for the Laboratory for Computational Sensing + Robotics.

Abstract:

As robotics increasingly integrates into our social and professional spheres, the question of how humans perceive and trust robots has gained prominence. Are robots regarded as utilitarian tools, designed to fulfill tasks efficiently, or are they embraced as teammates, eliciting human-like trust? Some argue that humans interact with robots in a way that resembles social interactions with other humans, a viewpoint aligned with the 'computers are social actors' (CASA) concept. Conversely, proponents of the robot as a tool view contend that humans perceive robots as non-human tools, promoting the use of human-to-automation theories and trust measures. In this presentation, we delve into these arguments and propose an empirical study aimed at shedding light on this debate.

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