Human-robot interaction

Originally published on my OU study blog while studying module TM129 'Technologies in Practice'

Block 1 of TM129 includes a study week on human-robot interaction.

This looked at Carnegie-Mellon University’s 2001 Nursebot project. There’s a video clip of Nursebot ‘escorting’ two elderly patients to their physiotherapy appointments. One resident in the interview clip seems to think something like Nursebot would have practical use in that it would save nurses’ time escorting residents to their various appointments. Nursebot would need a fair few enhancements before she approximated human company though. The interviewer is heard assuring the resident that Nursebot isn’t intended to replace human interaction – in fairness, the woman being interviewed seems to realise that.

This week’s material also revisited ELIZA, developed in 1966 to interact in the style of Carl Rogers’ ‘client-centred’ therapy. This version of Eliza http://www.manifestation.com/neurotoys/eliza.php3 (Wallace, 2006) was linked to.

I had some interaction with Eliza while studying TU100 in 2015, and blogged about it then. The interaction this time wasn’t much more successful, though perhaps a little more abrasive. The > symbol is before Eliza’s input; the asterisk before mine.

Joseph Weizenbaum, Eliza’s creator, evidently expressed surprise at how emotionally involved people became during interactions with Eliza. I have to say I also find that rather surprising.