31 - Racialization and Bias toward Humanoids

Summary

Humans categorize themselves and others on the basis of many attributes forging a range of social groups. Such group identities can influence our perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors toward others and ourselves. While decades of psychological research has examined how dividing the world into “us” and “them” impacts our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors toward others, a new and emerging area of research considers how humans can ascribe social group memberships to humanoid robots. Specifically, our social perceptions and evaluations of humanoids can be shaped by subtle characteristics about the robot’s appearance or other features, particularly if these characteristics are interpreted through the lens of important human group identities. The current chapter reviews research on the psychology of intergroup relations to consider its manifestations and expressions in the context of human–robot interaction. We first consider how robots despite being nonliving can be ascribed certain identities (e.g., race, gender, and national origin). We then consider how this can in turn impact attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors toward such technology. Given the nascency of this field of study, we highlight existing gaps in our knowledge and highlight important directions for future research. The chapter concludes by considering the societal, market, and legal implications of bias in the context of human–robot interaction.