Robopsychology
Robopsychology is the study of the personalities and behavior of intelligent machines. The term was coined by Isaac Asimov in the short stories collected in I, Robot, which featured robopsychologist Dr. Susan Calvin, and whose plots largely revolved around the protagonist solving problems connected with intelligent robot behaviour.[1][2][3] The term has been also used in some academic studies from the field of psychology and human–computer interactions.[4]
In real life
Andrea Kuszewski, a self-described robopsychologist gives the following examples of potential responsibilities for a robopsychologist in Discover.
- "Assisting in the design of cognitive architectures
- Developing appropriate lesson plans for teaching AI targeted skills
- Create guides to help the AI through the learning process
- Address any maladaptive machine behaviors
- Research the nature of ethics and how it can be taught and/or reinforced
- Create new and innovative therapy approaches for the domain of computer-based intelligences"[5]
There is a robospychology research division at Ars Electronica Futurelab[6]
A.V. Libin and E.V. Libin define the term as follows: "[it is] a systematic study of compatibility between people and artificial creatures on many different levels [...]. Robotic psychology studies individual differences in people’s interactions with various robots, as well as the diversity of the robots themselves, applying principles of differential psychology to the traditional fields of human factors and human–computer interactions. Moreover, robopsychologists study psychological mechanisms of the animation of the technological entity which result in a unique phenomenon defined as a robot’s “personality.”"[4]
In fiction
As described by Asimov, robopsychology appears to be a mixture of detailed mathematical analysis and traditional psychology, applied to robots. Human psychology is also a part, covering human interaction with robots. This includes the "Frankenstein complex" – the irrational fear that robots (or other creations) will turn on their creator.
See also
References
- ^ IDG Enterprise (19 October 1987). Computerworld. IDG Enterprise. pp. 32–.
- ^ Gavin Miller (29 January 2020). Science Fiction and Psychology. Liverpool University Press. pp. 20–. ISBN 978-1-78962-471-7.
- ^ Peter Nicholls (1979). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: An Illustrated A to Z. Unknown Publisher. ISBN 978-0-246-11020-6.
- ^ a b Libin, A.V.; Libin, E.V. (November 2004). "Person-robot interactions from the robopsychologists' point of view: the robotic psychology and robotherapy approach". Proceedings of the IEEE. 92 (11): 1789–1803. doi:10.1109/JPROC.2004.835366. ISSN 1558-2256.
- ^ "I, Robopsychologist, Part 1: Why Robots Need Psychologists". Discover.
- ^ Dizik, Alina (March 16, 2017). "How Movies Can Help Robots and People Get Along" – via www.wsj.com.