Do People Empathize With Robots When They Walk in Their Shoes?

Walking in robots' shoes

As we engage more closely with robots and other automated technology, the ability to work effectively together is key. Central to this is likely to be the ability to understand one another, and a recent study from the University of Trento invokes the age-old maxim that true understanding comes when you walk a mile in someone’s shoes.

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The research explored whether ‘beaming’ a human inside a robot, it affects the overall attitude of that person towards the robot. Interestingly, that is precisely what appeared to happen, with participants appearing to better identify with the robot they had been ‘beamed’ inside of.