The robots that share our public areas as we speak are so demure. Social robots and service robots intention to keep away from offense, erring towards well mannered airs, constructive feelings, and obedience. In some methods, this is smart—would you actually wish to have a yelling match with a delivery robot in a lodge? In all probability not, even should you’re in New York City and making an attempt to soak up the native tradition.
In different methods, this passive social robot design aligns with paternalistic requirements that hyperlink help to subservience. Thoughtlessly following such outdated social norms in robotic design could also be ill-advised, because it can help to reinforce outdated or harmful ideas akin to proscribing folks’s rights and reflecting solely the wants of majority-identity customers.
In my robotics lab at Oregon State University, we work with a playful spirit and revel in difficult the problematic norms which might be entrenched inside “well mannered” interactions and social roles. So we determined to experiment with robots that use foul language round people. In any case, many individuals are utilizing foul language greater than ever in 2025. Why not let robots have an opportunity, too?
Why and The way to Examine Cursing Robots
Societal requirements within the United States recommend that cursing robots would probably rub folks the incorrect manner in most contexts, as swearing has a predominantly destructive connotation. Though some previous analysis reveals that cursing can enhance team cohesion and elicit humor, sure members of society (akin to ladies) are sometimes anticipated to avoid risking offense by means of profanity. We questioned whether or not cursing robots could be considered negatively, or if they may maybe supply advantages in sure conditions.
We determined to review cursing robots within the context of responding to errors. Previous work in human-robot interplay has already proven that responding to error (moderately than ignoring it) will help robots be perceived extra positively in human-populated areas, particularly within the case of private and repair robots. And one study discovered that in comparison with different fake pas, foul language is extra forgivable in a robotic.
With this previous work in thoughts, we generated movies with three frequent forms of robotic failure: bumping right into a desk, dropping an object, and failing to understand an object. We crossed these conditions with three forms of responses from the robotic: no verbal response, a non-expletive verbal declaration, and an expletive verbal declaration. We then requested folks to price the robots on issues like competence, discomfort, and likability, utilizing normal scales in an internet survey.
What Folks Considered Our Cursing Robots
On the entire, we had been shocked by how acceptable swearing appeared to the research members, particularly inside an preliminary group of Oregon State College college students, however even among the many basic public as effectively. Cursing had no destructive influence, and even some constructive impacts, among the many school college students after we eliminated one religiously connotated curse (god***it), which gave the impression to be acquired in a stronger destructive manner than different cuss phrases.
Actually, college members rated swearing robots because the most socially close and most humorous, and rated non-expletive and expletive robotic reactions equal on social heat, competence, discomfort, anthropomorphism, and likability scales. Most of the people judged non-profane and profane robots as equal on most scales, though expletive reactions had been deemed most discomforting and non-expletive responses appeared most likable. We imagine that the college college students had been barely extra accepting of cursing robots due to the campus’s progressive tradition, the place cursing is taken into account a peccadillo.
Since experiments run solely in an internet setting don’t all the time characterize real-life interactions effectively, we additionally carried out a last replication research in particular person with a robotic that made errors whereas distributing goodie baggage to campus neighborhood members at Oregon State, which bolstered our prior outcomes.
Now we have submitted this work, which represents a well-designed sequence of empirical experiments with attention-grabbing outcomes and replications alongside the best way, to a number of completely different journals and conferences. Regardless of persistently enthusiastic reviewer feedback, no editors have but accepted our work for publication—it appears to be the kind of paper that editors are nervous to the touch. Presently, the work is underneath assessment for a fourth time, for doable inclusion within the 2025 IEEE Worldwide Convention on Robotic and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), in a paper titled “Oh F**k! How Do People Feel About Robots That Leverage Profanity?”
Give Cursing Robots a Likelihood
Primarily based on our outcomes, we predict cursing robots deserve an opportunity! Our findings present that swearing robots would usually have little draw back and a few upside, particularly in open-minded areas akin to college campuses. Even for most people, reactions to errors with profanity yielded a lot much less distaste than we anticipated. Our knowledge confirmed that individuals cared extra about whether or not robots acknowledged their error in any respect than whether or not or not they swore.
Folks do have some reservations about cursing robots, particularly on the subject of consolation and likability, so thoughtfulness could also be required to use curse phrases on the proper time. For instance, simply as people do, robots ought to probably maintain again their swear phrases round youngsters and be extra cautious in settings that usually demand cleaner language. Robotic practitioners may additionally take into account surveying particular person customers about profanity acceptance as they arrange new expertise in private settings—moderately than letting robotic techniques be taught the laborious manner, maybe alienating customers within the course of.
As extra robots enter our day-to-day areas, they’re sure to make errors. How they react to those errors is necessary. Essentially, our work reveals that individuals want robots that discover when a mistake has occurred and react to this error in a relatable manner. And plainly a variety of kinds within the response itself, from the profane to the mundane, can work effectively. So we invite designers to present cursing robots an opportunity!
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