One argument for why robots will never fully measure up to people is because they lack human-like social skills. But researchers are experimenting with new methods to give robots social skills to better interact with humans. Two new studies provide evidence of progress in this kind of research.
One experiment was carried out by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT. The team developed a machine learning system for self-driving vehicles that is designed to learn the social characteristics of other drivers. The researchers studied driving situations to learn how other drivers on the road were likely to behave. Since not all human drivers act the same way, the data was meant to teach the driverless car to avoid dangerous situations.
The researchers say the technology uses tools borrowed from the field of social psychology. In this experiment, scientists created a system that attempted to decide whether a person's driving style is more selfish or selfless. In road tests, self-driving vehicles equipped with the system improved their ability to predict what other drivers would do by up to 25 percent.
In one test, the self-driving car was observed making a left-hand turn. The study found the system could cause the vehicle to wait before making the turn if it predicted the oncoming drivers acted selfishly and might be unsafe. But when oncoming vehicles were judged to be selfless, the self-driving car could make the turn without delay because it saw less risk of unsafe behavior.
The researchers say they believe the technology could also be used in vehicles with human drivers. It could act as a warning system against other drivers judged to be behaving aggressively. The research suggests that humanoid robots have the ability to affect people socially just as humans do. Fang said this ability could become more important in the future when machines and humans are expected to interact regularly.
