Introduction
Technological development directs the progress of individuals and humankind as a whole. The majority of tasks previously performed by people are now being delegated to various machines. However, this is only one aspect of the matter since there is a tendency to humanize the devices in the case of their physical resemblance with humans (Mergner et al. 1). The former’s capability to memorize, entertain and make independent conclusions only adds to the perception of them as humanlike creatures. Modern androids, in turn, confirm it by showing character, reacting to the environment, and mimicking others’ emotions. Moreover, their purpose of helping people in all areas of life makes them dependent on these machines. This situation leads to the emergence of logical fallacies in the process of analyzing interactions when a person struggles to find a borderline between a human and a robot. This trend has specific psychological implications defined by the social consciousness of the time. Therefore, the development of robotic technology reflects the perspectives of people on themselves and affects the process of personality formation as well as psychological wellbeing in general.
Current Trends in Robotics
The rapid progress of technology, together with the demands of the present-day world, define the need for researchers to propose the required solutions to the population. From this point of view, one of the fields which benefit most from this trend is healthcare, and the devices are primarily used for intervention and rehabilitation programs (Marchetti et al. 1). What is more important, they are distinguished not only by application but also by individual characteristics of patients. Thus, for example, the orientation of scholars in the attempts to reveal the usefulness of machines for the provision of high-quality healthcare services is on such categories as children, adults, and elderly (Marchetti et al. 2). Another area that benefits from such devices is education, even though the technological solutions for it are less developed in comparison with healthcare. The recent advances in this sphere are related to the attempts to substitute people with devices for consulting students on their professional choices based on their personal characteristics (Fridayanti et al. 203). Hence, they resemble the psychological assistance provided by androids in healthcare.
Social Underpinning of Technological Progress
The emergence of robotic solutions which mostly affect healthcare and education can be viewed through the lens of societal shifts. These devices tend to act like humans, and this factor contributes to the perceived development of their individuality. From this perspective, the humanization of androids and the attribution of personal qualities to them is conditional upon the way people perceive themselves. According to Twenge, American society drastically changed with the emergence of the concept of a self which substituted the “ethics of honor and duty” (45). The acquisition of autonomy, in this case, resulted in the focus of people on self-fulfillment and their individual journeys (Twenge 46). According to the surveys conducted by scholars, they are guided by the considerations of self-expression when buying clothes, concerned about authenticity, and emphasize the importance of self-confidence (Twenge 52). This outcome allows concluding on the desire to see a personality in everyone they meet in their lives instead of a community member or any other social roles ascribed to them. In this way, these perceptions are expanded to various kinds of robots which acquire human-like behavior and, therefore, characteristics.
Humanization of Robots and Its Psychological Impact
Considering the societal factors presented above, the humanization of robots is a reflection of people’s views on their place in the world contrasted by the previously prevalent tribal values. However, this phenomenon is accompanied not only by the increasing influence of technology on all spheres of life but also by specific psychological issues. Thus, for example, most people tend to attribute some human characteristics to robots capable of responding to their questions. This conclusion was experimentally confirmed by researchers who introduced the ELIZA computer program to MIT students (Turkle 458). In a few minutes after the beginning of their interaction, people started asking personal questions and expected to receive advice from it (Turkle 458). In this way, their brain imagined the non-existing emotional reaction from the program and responded accordingly. As a result, they started to perceive the machine as human due to the similarity in their behavior (Turkle 458). The experiment demonstrated the inability of people to distinguish a device and a person in a while after the beginning of the conversation and their actions on readjusting their conduct as if it was one.
This logical fallacy is not an isolated case since other initiatives regarding the introduction of robots to people provided similar results. Moreover, the effect was much stronger when an android not only possessed certain human characteristics but also looked like a person. An explicit example of such incidents is the encounter of one student with Nexi, a robot with a woman’s torso and an emotionally expressive face who could speak (Turkle 478). While waiting for the robot’s development team to talk to them, he had to spend some time near it and consequently described his emotions at the meeting with the professor (Turkle 478). According to him, this experience was extremely upsetting as he viewed it as a blindfolded woman rather than an android (Turkle 479). In this way, the psychological issues underpinning the whole research and experiment process are defined by the inability of people to perceive the machines they create and use as robots rather than humans. What is more serious, this image is supported by other people, while they might not realize it at first, and this situation can result in complications in the future.
Implications in Healthcare
The impact of the development of robotic technology on psychological wellbeing can be easily traced through the consideration of their implementation in the treatment for different population groups. Thus, for example, children with special needs such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) characterized by a lack of communication and social interactions can significantly benefit from the use of robots for this purpose. Marchetti et al. claim that they demonstrated tremendous improvements in social behaviors in terms of shared attention and imitation (2). Nevertheless, it is still unclear if these children show the same willingness to cooperate with real people.
For adults, the psychological aspect of the introduction of therapeutic humanlike robots is connected to overall wellbeing. The experiment with Betty, an android who can walk and talk, revealed its calming effect on the psychiatric patients as well as the increase in their motivation (Marchetti et al. 11). However, such interventions are still poorly accepted by adults, and this fact might have an adverse impact on their psychological health (Marchetti et al. 14). As for the elderly, their difference from the previously described categories of patients is in a greater risk of pathological solitude and the need for continuous medical-assistance interventions (Marchetti et al. 14). The principal challenge for them is the mistrust of technology and the lack of approaches to overcome this problem (Marchetti et al. 15). Therefore, additional measures are required for the efficient implementation of technological solutions in their lives to maintain their psychological wellbeing.
Implications for Children
The most vulnerable population group from the perspective of the introduction of robots is children, and the potential consequences of such decisions should be considered with caution. According to Turkle, their vivid imagination, even when playing with static toys, leads to the attribution of human characteristics to them (462). As a result, they might view interactive figures like Tamagotchi or Furby as living beings rather than toys (Turkle 462). Therefore, the process of playing with them is accompanied by the emergence of emotions similar to the ones for other people and the subsequent attachment to these inanimate objects. Moreover, the manufacturers of such toys as Tamagotchi contribute to this perception by making it impossible to turn them off when they are alive and resurrect once they are dead (Turkle 462). These facts add to the resemblance of toys to humans which, in turn, triggers the corresponding logical fallacies. Thus, this practice might result in psychological trauma for children.
Another feature that might result in complications is the capability of toys to speak and learn the language. One of the examples of interactive figures with this function is Furby, and it can not only say “I love you” and acquire new words but also require attention from a child. Hence, they recognize such behavior as the demonstration of gratitude and sincerely worry about the toy once it seems unhappy. The experiments showed that the concerns could be evoked when children heard about the potential fears of Furby (Turkle 476). Another situation that made them feel uneasy was the need to open the toy to charge the batteries even though no damage was implied (Turkle 472). In this way, the users’ brains make them perceive the objects as friends. This outcome is an example of a logical fallacy that can subsequently lead to communication issues in children and thereby adversely affect the process of their personality formation.
Conclusion
To summarize, the age of individualism significantly influences technological advancement and increases the probability of severe consequences for the human psyche. This situation is conditional upon the inevitability of logical fallacy when interacting with androids resembling people and acting in a humanlike manner. Its further development is defined by the orientation of the present-day generations on themselves rather than society and the desire to instill this characteristic in produced robots. What is more important, the majority of interactions with machines happen in the fields of healthcare and education critical for the psychological wellbeing of people. It is clear that a certain degree of autonomy and the capability to form a unique personality in androids positively affect patients in the hospital setting. It also helps students struggling to make the right decision regarding their professional growth. Nevertheless, the negative aspect of these practices is alarming as it implies the impossibility to predict the consequences for the health and socialization of affected persons, especially children. Thus, it can be concluded that the world is not ready for the mass production of humanlike androids until a solution to the identified issues is found.
Works Cited
Fridayanti, Frida, et al. “Development of Android-Based Software to Support The Selection of University Majors that Fits with Student Personality Type.”Kinetik: Game Technology, Information System, Computer Network, Computing, Electronics, and Control, vol. 3, no. 3, 2018, pp. 203-212. Web.
Marchetti, Antonella, et al. “Robotics in Clinical and Developmental Psychology.” Reference Module in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology, 2020. Elsevier Public Health Emergency Collection. Web.
Mergner, Thomas, et al. “Embodiment and Humanoid Robotics.” Philosophisches Handbuch Künstliche Intelligenz, edited by Klaus Mainzer, Springer, 2019, pp. 1-27. Web.
Turkle, Sherry. “Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other.” The New Humanities Reader. 5th ed., edited by Richard Miller and Kurt Spellmeyer, Cengage Learning, 2015, pp. 458-79.
Twenge, Jean M. Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled – And More Miserable Than Ever Before. Atria Books, 2014.