Research Looks into Workplace Relationships between Humans and Robots

Robot Photo by Alex Knight from Pexels

A longtime paramedic in the San Francisco Bay Area, Grant Seibert holds a master's degree in human factors and ergonomics from the University of California.. The subject Grant Seibert studied dealt with how humans adapt to and work with their environment, on psychological as well as physical-layout levels, and he has been a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES).

Recent research published in HFES's Journal focused on the complex relationships between humans and robots. A survey of 164 participants presented 18 hypothetical scenarios across industrial, health care, and military sectors. In each scenario, either a non-autonomous robot, an autonomous robot, or a human had caused some sort of error, with respondents asked to assign blame.

A key finding was that humans were more likely to blame each other than to blame robots, and also more likely to blame autonomous robots than non-autonomous robots. This blame hierarchy is important, given that workplaces are set to become increasingly automated in the future. When robots and humans are part of a team, the humans’ perception of their technological counterparts is important in ensuring their successful functioning, particularly in challenging circumstances.

The researchers next plan to study how bots’ appearance and level of autonomy affect humans’ relationship to them.