A G N I E S Z K A W Y K O W S K A
S O C I A L AT T U N E M E N T I N S O C I A L C O G N I T I V E N E U R O S C I E N C E A N D H U M A N - R O B O T
I N T E R A C T I O N
“Social cognition in human-robot interaction” research line Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia
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E M PAT H I S I N G W I T H O T H E R S
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E M PAT H I S I N G W I T H O T H E R S
Empathy: “the capacity to share the feelings of others (…) Empathy makes it possible to resonate with others’ feelings” (Singer & Klimecki, 2014)
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E M PAT H I S I N G W I T H O T H E R S
Empathy: “the capacity to share the feelings of others (…) Empathy makes it possible to resonate with others’ feelings” (Singer & Klimecki, 2014)
“Empathy has been defined as an affective response stemming from the understanding of another’s emotional state” (Eisenberg, et al., 1991, after Decety & Meyer, 2008)
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C A N R O B O T S E M PAT H I S E W I T H U S ?
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C A N R O B O T S E M PAT H I S E W I T H U S ?
Ability to empathise would require from robots to have affective states, similar to ours. Perhaps they would also need similar physiological mechanisms.
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C A N R O B O T S E M PAT H I S E W I T H U S ?
Ability to empathise would require from robots to have affective states, similar to ours. Perhaps they would also need similar physiological mechanisms.
Present AI and robotics not there yet….
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W H AT C A N W E D O ?
For the time being we can:
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W H AT C A N W E D O ?
For the time being we can:
(1) detect social and emotional signals of the human (behavioural and also maybe (neuro-)physiological?
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W H AT C A N W E D O ?
For the time being we can:
(1) detect social and emotional signals of the human (behavioural and also maybe (neuro-)physiological?
(2) respond by imitating behavioural “empathetic”responses based on knowledge about how a human would behave in such circumstances
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W H AT C A N W E D O ?
For the time being we can:
(1) detect social and emotional signals of the human (behavioural and also maybe (neuro-)physiological?
(2) respond by imitating behavioural “empathetic”responses based on knowledge about how a human would behave in such circumstances
This should create social attunement
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S O C I A L AT T U N E M E N T I N H R I
Attunement (noun): being or bringing into harmony: a feeling of being “at one” with another being.
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S O C I A L AT T U N E M E N T I N H R I
Social attunement: an umbrella concept for various mechanisms of social cognition that the human brain uses in interactions with others. Example of these are:
Attunement (noun): being or bringing into harmony: a feeling of being “at one” with another being.
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S O C I A L AT T U N E M E N T I N H R I
Social attunement: an umbrella concept for various mechanisms of social cognition that the human brain uses in interactions with others. Example of these are:- joint attention
Attunement (noun): being or bringing into harmony: a feeling of being “at one” with another being.
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S O C I A L AT T U N E M E N T I N H R I
Social attunement: an umbrella concept for various mechanisms of social cognition that the human brain uses in interactions with others. Example of these are:- joint attention- spatial perspective taking
Attunement (noun): being or bringing into harmony: a feeling of being “at one” with another being.
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S O C I A L AT T U N E M E N T I N H R I
Social attunement: an umbrella concept for various mechanisms of social cognition that the human brain uses in interactions with others. Example of these are:- joint attention- spatial perspective taking- emotional synchronisation
Attunement (noun): being or bringing into harmony: a feeling of being “at one” with another being.
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S O C I A L AT T U N E M E N T I N H R I
Social attunement: an umbrella concept for various mechanisms of social cognition that the human brain uses in interactions with others. Example of these are:- joint attention- spatial perspective taking- emotional synchronisation- communicative gestures
Attunement (noun): being or bringing into harmony: a feeling of being “at one” with another being.
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H O W ?
Through well-controlled experiments and cognitive neuroscience methods — replicable and generalisable results
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H O W ?
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H O W ?
1. Identifying specific human behavioural parameters in well-controlled experiments, methods of cognitive neuroscience
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H O W ?
1. Identifying specific human behavioural parameters in well-controlled experiments, methods of cognitive neuroscience
2. Implementing controllers of the robot to copy human behaviours — imitation of empathy
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H O W ?
1. Identifying specific human behavioural parameters in well-controlled experiments, methods of cognitive neuroscience
2. Implementing controllers of the robot to copy human behaviours — imitation of empathy
3. Testing the attunement level (“attunement test”) - testing social cognition and engagement in well-controlled experiments, methods of cognitive neuroscience
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H O W ?
1. Identifying specific human behavioural parameters in well-controlled experiments, methods of cognitive neuroscience
2. Implementing controllers of the robot to copy human behaviours — imitation of empathy
3. Testing the attunement level (“attunement test”) - testing social cognition and engagement in well-controlled experiments, methods of cognitive neuroscience
4. Using results of step 3 to improve the quality of empathy and attunement
8Wykowska, Kajopoulos, Ramirez, & Cheng (2015, Interaction Studies)
Pre-programmed
vs.
Human pre-recorded
Results: • Joint attention influenced by perceived humanness• Lack of awareness of the correct hint
E X A M P L E R E S E A R C H
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TA K E - H O M E M E S S A G E S
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TA K E - H O M E M E S S A G E S
1. Empathy is an element of social attunement
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TA K E - H O M E M E S S A G E S
1. Empathy is an element of social attunement2. Imitating empathy can be achieved by studying human
behavioural markers of empathy
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TA K E - H O M E M E S S A G E S
1. Empathy is an element of social attunement2. Imitating empathy can be achieved by studying human
behavioural markers of empathy3. This requires cognitive neuroscience methods and well-
controlled experiments
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TA K E - H O M E M E S S A G E S
1. Empathy is an element of social attunement2. Imitating empathy can be achieved by studying human
behavioural markers of empathy3. This requires cognitive neuroscience methods and well-
controlled experiments4. This approach of fundamental science is also beneficial for
industrial products
T H A N K Y O U [email protected]
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TA K E - H O M E M E S S A G E S
1. Empathy is an element of social attunement2. Imitating empathy can be achieved by studying human
behavioural markers of empathy3. This requires cognitive neuroscience methods and well-
controlled experiments4. This approach of fundamental science is also beneficial for
industrial products