Neurotic robots are a staple of science fiction movies, but they’re not as common in the real world. Should that change?
Gregory_DUBUS/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Gregory_DUBUS/Getty Images
Neurotic, anxious robots like C-3P0 from Star Wars’ C-3P0 and Marvin from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy are a staple of science fiction — but they’re not as common in the real world. Most of the time, the chatbots and artificial intelligence “robots” we encounter are programmed to be extraverted, confident and cheerful. But what if that changed?
NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce dives into the world of robot personality research and talks to a team of researchers that are experimenting with a very different kind of robot temperament.
Read more of Nell’s reporting on the topic here.
Interested in more science news? Let us know at [email protected].
Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Love podcasts? For handpicked recommendations every Friday, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club.
Listen to Short Wave on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
This episode was produced by Hannah Chinn and edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Nell Greenfieldboyce checked the facts. Jimmy Keeley was the audio engineer.
