Can We Fall In Love With Robots?

Robots play a bigger role in our lives than ever before. They build things for us, and even help keep our soldiers safe on the battlefield. But are we getting too attached? Anthony explores what happens when human emotion and robots mix.

Read More:
Emotional attachment to robots could affect outcome on battlefield
http://www.washington.edu/news/2013/09/17/emotional-attachment-to-robots-could-affect-outcome-on-battlefield/
"Too busy to vacuum your living room? Let Roomba the robot do it. Don't want to risk a soldier's life to disable an explosive? Let a robot do it."

How Robots Can Trick You Into Loving Them
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/22/magazine/how-robots-can-trick-you-into-loving-them.html?_r=3&adxnnl=1&smid=tw-share&pagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1379621156-WqB0ge5yyl99ZqRl+2b8iw
"I like to think of my Roomba as cute and industrious. He makes noises while he cleans that make me feel as if he's communicating with me, which contributes to the fact that I have assigned him a sex."

The Real Reason We Dress Pets Like People
http://www.livescience.com/6141-real-reason-dress-pets-people.html
"Chihuahuas in sweaters. Hurricanes with names. A "sick" economy. If you didn't know better, you'd think that humans can't tell objects from people or pets from Paris Hilton."

Why Do We Anthropomorphize?
http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/03/01/why-do-we-anthropomorphize/11766.html
"Giving human characteristics to animals, inanimate objects or natural phenomena is a human trait called "to anthropomorphize." Sadly, as in the tragic Sea World attack the proclivity is forgotten as we wonder why the animal behaved as an animal."

Anthropomorphism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism

Can Robots Help Care for the Elderly?
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/media-spotlight/201306/can-robots-help-care-the-elderly
"Did you ever see Robot and Frank? The charming 2012 film features Frank Langella as an elderly ex-cat burglar in the early stages of dementia whose son buys him a domestic robot to act as a caretaker."

Robotherapy with Dementia Patients
http://www.intechopen.com/journals/international_journal_of_advanced_robotic_systems/robotherapy-with-dementia-patients
"Abstract Humanoids have increasingly become the focus of attention in robotics research in recent years, especially in service and personal assistance robotics. This paper presents the application developed for humanoid robots in the therapy of dementia patients as a cognitive stimulation tool."

Humans tend to trust robots that look human
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/humans-tend-trust-robots-look-human-8C11020747
"Faced with two alternate versions of the same robot, people found the more human-like display friendlier and more trustworthy, compared to the other, more mechanical display, which they understood to be colder, "creepier," and "sterile.""

Watch More:
Most Advanced Humanoid Robot:
http://testtube.com/dnews/dnews-447-atlas-robot
Human-Like Robots Are Creepy:
http://testtube.com/dnews/dnews-240-why-human-replicas-creep-us-out
Is Your Roomba Alive?:
http://testtube.com/stufftoblowyourmind/roomba-alive

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