Page 118 - Artificial Intelligence for the Internet of Everything

104 Artificial Intelligence for the Internet of Everything

robotic system is a key ingredient to acceptance of the technology (Lasota &
Shah, 2015). In an experimental study, Lasota and Shah (2015) found that
robots made better teammates with participants in a joint manual task when
the robots were aware of the human’s next action—thus adding predictabil-
ity into the robot’s future intent. Further, robots that convey empathy
(attributed intent) are liked more by participants (Leite et al., 2013). Thus
perceived benevolence from the technology should be an important factor
in deciding whether the technology is a tool versus a teammate.

6.1.5 Perceived Task Interdependence
Mutual interdependence is a cornerstone of what it means to be part of a
team. Interdependence presupposes some commonality in tasks and goals.
When teaming with a machine partner, it is likely that the machine and
human will work on separate aspects of the same task jointly. If structured
appropriately, the task will be able to be divided into task components that
are appropriate for the human and components that are appropriate for the
machine to maximize the overall effectiveness of the human-machine team.
In any case, interdependence with the machine will likely increase the
perception of the technology as a teammate versus as a tool.

6.1.6 Relationship-Building

Imagine a world where teammates only discussed task-related informa-
tion—what a boring relationship! True team members engage each other
at a social level beyond the task. In fact, social engagement can often be
an important precursor to effective task work. Ososky et al. (2013) suggests
that for humans to view robotic systems as partners, the interactive affor-
dances need to move from one-sided information-centric transmissions to
more naturalistic and dynamic dialogue-based interactions. This will move
the communication process from merely task-based to more relationship/
team-building-focused. Research by Hamacher, Bianchi-Berthouze, Pipe,
and Eder (2016) shows that when interacting with robots, humans prefer
robots that are expressive and warm over robots that are just focused on
the task. These team-focused communications can signal loyalty and help
build rapport among team members, which are important team processes.
As such, relationship-building communications will likely influence the per-
ception of the technology as a teammate versus as a tool.