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“I Love You,” Said the Robot: Boundaries of the Use of Emotions in Human-Robot Interactions

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Emotional Design in Human-Robot Interaction

Part of the book series: Human–Computer Interaction Series ((HCIS))

Abstract

This chapter reflects upon the ethical, legal, and societal (ELS) implications of the use of emotions by robot technology. The first section introduces different cases where emotions play a role in human-robot interaction (HRI) contexts. This chapter draws particular attention to disparities found in recent technical literature relating to the appropriateness of the use of emotions in HRIs. These examples, coupled with the lack of guidelines on requirements, boundaries, and the appropriate use of emotions in HRI, give rise to a vast number of ELS implications that the second section addresses. Recent regulatory initiatives in the European Union (EU) aim at mitigating the risks posed by robot technologies. However, these may not entirely suffice to frame adequately the questions the use of emotions entails in these contexts.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The sense of the word sleeve has been taken from the TV Series “Altered Carbon.” This refers to the human-like body that carries human consciousness, two things completely separated in the series.

  2. 2.

    See: https://twitter.com/eduardfosch/status/942710206932357121.

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Acknowledgements

This project was funded by the LEaDing Fellows Marie Curie COFUND fellowship, a project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant Agreement No. 707404).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. eLaw Center for Law and Digital Technologies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Eduard Fosch Villaronga

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  1. Eduard Fosch Villaronga
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Correspondence to Eduard Fosch Villaronga .

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  1. IADE – Faculdade de Design, Tecnologia e Comunicação, Universidade Europeia, Lisbon, Portugal

    Hande Ayanoğlu

  2. IADE – Faculdade de Design, Tecnologia e Comunicação, Universidade Europeia, Lisbon, Portugal

    Emília Duarte

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Fosch Villaronga, E. (2019). “I Love You,” Said the Robot: Boundaries of the Use of Emotions in Human-Robot Interactions. In: Ayanoğlu, H., Duarte, E. (eds) Emotional Design in Human-Robot Interaction. Human–Computer Interaction Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96722-6_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96722-6_6

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