1,721,036 research outputs found
The psychophysics of comic: effects of incongruity in causality and animacy
Full text linkAccording to several theories of humour (see Berger, 2012; Martin, 2007), incongruity - i.e., the presence of two incompatible meanings in the same situation - is a crucial condition for an event being evaluated as comical. The aim of this research was to test with psychophysical methods the role of incongruity in visual perception by manipulating the causal paradigm (Michotte, 1946/1963) to get a comic effect. We ran three experiments. In Experiment 1, we tested the role of speed ratio between the first and the second movement, and the effect of animacy cues (i.e. frog-like and jumping-like trajectories) in the second movement; in Experiment 2, we manipulated the temporal delay between the movements to explore the relationship between perceptual causal contingencies and comic impressions; in Experiment 3, we compared the strength of the comic impressions arising from incongruent trajectories based on animacy cues with those arising from incongruent trajectories not based on animacy cues (bouncing and rotating) in the second part of the causal event. General findings showed that the paradoxical juxtaposition of a living behaviour in the perceptual causal paradigm is a powerful factor in eliciting comic appreciations, coherently with the Bergsonian perspective in particular (Bergson, 2003), and with incongruity theories in general
A mind in a disk: the attribution of mental states to technological systems
No full textThis paper reports a study about the role of different variables in the process of attributing mental states to technological systems, variables such as the number of figural elements displayed in the system and the personality traits of the subjects interacting with the systems. In an experiment, participants were interacting with a computer on whose screen several disks of various sizes and colours were blinking at different rates. Each time a disk reappeared on the screen its position was randomly varied. As in a videogame, participants had to click on the disks to increase their score. The results showed that, even in the case of such a simple system, subjects believed that the figural elements they were interacting with had some form of mental states, although their confidence in these beliefs varied in the different experimental conditions. The confidence level of the attributions, in fact, was not the same for all the different mental states considered, and it varied also both with the number of elements being displayed as well as with some personality traits of the subjects
Effects of context on the perception of animacy and intentionality
No full textWe explored the effect of different spatiotemporal contexts on the perceptual saliency of animacy and intentionality. Paired-comparisons and ratings were used to compare the impressions of animacy elicited by a small square moving on the screen, either alone or in the context of a second square. The context element was either static or moved showing an animate-like or a physical-like trajectory, and the target object moved either toward it or away from it. The movement of the target could also include animacy cues (caterpillar-like expanding/contracting phases). To determine the effect of different contexts on the emergence of emotions and intentions, we also recorded and analysed the phenomenological reports of participants. The results show that the context significantly influences the perception of animacy, which is stronger in dynamic contexts than in static ones; also, findings show that the perception of animacy is greater when the target is moving away from the context element than when it is approaching it. The free reports reveal different proportions in emotional or intentional attributions in the different conditions: in particular, the "moving away" condition is related to negative emotions, while the "approaching" condition evokes positive emotions. Overall, the results suggest that animacy is a graded concept which can be articulated in more general characteristics, like simple aliveness, and more specific ones, like intentions or emotions, and that the spatiotemporal contingencies of the context play a crucial role in making them evident
Moral judgements of errors by AI systems and humans in civil and criminal law
No full textThe evaluation of the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in legal decisions still has unsolved questions. These may refer to the perceived degree of seriousness of the possible errors committed, the distribution of responsibility among the different decision-makers (human or artificial), and the evaluation of the error concerning its possible benevolent or malevolent consequences on the person sanctioned. Above all, assessing the possible relationships between these variables appears relevant. To this aim, we conducted a study through an online questionnaire (N = 288) where participants had to consider different scenarios in which a decision-maker, human or artificial, made an error of judgement for offences punishable by a fine (Civil Law infringement) or years in prison (Criminal Law infringement). We found that humans who delegate AIs are blamed less than solo humans, although the effect of decision maker was subtle. In addition, people consider the error more serious if committed by a human being when a sentence for a crime of the penal code is mitigated, and for an AI when a penalty for an infringement of the civil code is aggravated. The mitigation of the evaluation of seriousness for joint AI-human judgement errors suggests the potential for strategic scapegoating of AIs
It’s a long way to neutrality: an evaluation of gendered artificial faces
No full textImplementing gender-neutral virtual agents seems to be one possible solution to the problem of designing technologies which do not represent and con- vey gender stereotypes. Three tests were structured with the intention of selecting faces of male, female, or neutral gender hypothetical virtual agents. In each of these tests 30 participants assessed the gender and age of 9 hypothetical virtual agent faces by means of an online questionnaire. From the results of these tests, 3 faces were selected, one male, one female and one neutral, which were assessed through an online questionnaire (N = 83) with reference to some feminine or mas- culine characteristics of their personality. The willingness/pleasure to interact with artificial agents having those faces was also assessed. The results highlighted the difficulty in synthesizing faces that are perceived as absolutely neutral. Evaluations of the stimulus characterized by greater gender neutrality were less likely to refer to a female stereotype. The stimulus representing a gender-neutral face resulted also less accepted and liked than the male stimulus in all aspects considered and, in fewer aspects, than the female stimulus as well
Gender role stereotypes at work in humanoid robots
Full text linkResearch on gender role stereotypes activated in interactions with humanoid robots has yet to produce conclusive knowledge. To analyse how much, and in which way, gender role stereotypes used in interactions with humans are also called into play in interactions with humanoid robots, a study was conducted with 240 participants. The study was an online survey in which a scale was used for determining the appropriateness for performing four stereotypically masculine and four feminine by humans and robots. Overall, eight humanoid robots – four judged feminine and four masculine – were considered. Results showed that gender role stereotypes are activated for both genders, but men most strongly activate those pertaining to male roles. These stereotypes are also adopted in reference to humanoid robots, though robots are generally considered less suitable for performing female roles. Furthermore, an increased degree of similarity of robots to humans has a positive effect in assessing the appropriateness to perform female roles only for female robots. The same does not happen with male robots. These results suggest that male and female robots are not categorised in the same way. Robots are essentially perceived as male entities, a particularly relevant hypothesis for the gender-sensitive design of humanoid robots
Human beings and robots: are there any differences in the attribution of punishments for the same crimes?
No full textAs collaborative robots and artificial intelligence (AI) systems are being deployed in ever-increasing contexts, we are more and more called upon to make judgements on their moral behaviour. Understanding the factors, affecting our ethical judgements involving these types of agents, would thus seem of the uttermost importance to allow for safer and well-regulated interactions between humans and machines. So far, however, this topic has been rarely investigated. We compared the perception of the seriousness of an action committed by either a person or a robot, causing harm to either some persons or some robots, and the attribution of the appropriated punishment for that action. The results showed a significant effect of the type of victim: the action was considered more a serious offence, and deemed worthy of more severe punishment, if the victims were humans than if they were robots. A significant agent-by-victim interaction was also found in the punishment judgements: for human victims, a human agent was punished more severely than a robot, while for robot victims, a robot agent was attributed a more severe punishment than a human one. The results are discussed in the light of the theories linking moral judgements to mind perception
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