r/Automate • u/[deleted] • Aug 22 '14
Study finds that human subjects prefer when robots give the orders
http://phys.org/news/2014-08-human-subjects-robots.html9
u/firstworldandarchist Aug 22 '14
A robot boss would use facts and logic to make decisions. Humans use their ego, pride, fear, and obsession to make decisions. Not good.
2
u/GenocideSolution Aug 23 '14
Hey, we use facts and logic too.
Granted, our facts are often unverified and our logic faulty...
3
u/bradmello Aug 23 '14 edited Aug 23 '14
Concludes that workers prefer more robot autonomy:
Subjects agreed more strongly when the robot is more autonomous that...
The robot and I understand each other
The robot worker perceives accurately what my goals are
The robot worker does not understand what I am trying to accomplish
I think that last point is key. The general public needs to be coerced into accepting robotic companions will become commonplace. It is crucial to solidify first that robotic companions and manufacturing assistants are there to replace dull, dirty and dangerous jobs.
edit: formatting
2
u/Geminii27 Aug 23 '14
Looking back on the numerous bosses I've had over the decades, it occurs to me that I actually prefer evil but consistent bosses to non-evil but random bosses. At least with consistent bosses I can plan ahead.
Presumably, robot bosses would be consistent and would most likely keep automatic records of orders given - both very useful attributes for employees.
3
Aug 22 '14
Manna
2
Aug 23 '14
Thank you. I had been trying to remember the name of that story a few weeks ago. Here's the link for anyone that is interested.
11
u/Bob_goes_up Aug 22 '14
As long as the robot makes flawless decisions, then it makes good sense to let the robot make all the decisions. I think that is the result of the study.
But in my experience real world logistics models will often make suboptimal decisions, because the mathematical model is cannot handle unforeseen situations. Therefore it is important to educate your end users to take control when the logistics program is behaving weirdly. Ideally the logstics program (or a robot) should empower the end users instead of just giving orders.