Future Roles for Android Robots: Survey and Trial

The future role of android robots is discussed. Survey results reveal that people are capable of viewing androids as companions and will accept androids operating in various roles within human society; however, people are uncomfortable with androids operating in roles in which they are able to persuade humans to do something, affect humans' minds, or supervise young children. To examine people's response to an actual android robot within human society, an android capable of operating as "lecturer" was implemented and an evaluative experiment conducted. It was found that androids can evoke feelings of attentiveness that are much stronger than those evoked by existing media. Furthermore, use of the lecturer android did not improve efficiency. It is possible that people expected the android to have human-like abilities because of its human-like appearance. However, regardless of the cause, it is clear from the experiment that it is necessary to program androids with more human-like functions if they are to fill useful roles within human society.