Dennis Küster, Jacobs University Bremen, DE
Aleksandra Świderska, Warsaw University, PL
Robots will eventually become capable of engaging in norm-regulated interactions with humans. But do people perceive them as equivalent moral entities? We will present two psychological studies (one completed, one ongoing) on the perception of robots as moral patients. Our data suggest that robots are afforded a certain degree of moral consideration in the face of malevolent as well as benevolent actions, yet systematic differences to humans still remain. We will attempt to explain these empirical findings as a function of the level of human likeness of appearance and behaviors of robots, using visual vignettes.
