Empathy for and From Embodied Robots: An Interdisciplinary Review

Abstract

Several years ago, the world was stunned when the cute robot HitchBOT was destroyed. Does empathy for robots—sharing experiences and feeling compassion—make sense for humans? How do people empathize with robots, and what are the ethical and practical implications of doing so? How do people react when robots seem to be empathizing with them? In this review, we detail empirical work on empathy for robots, discuss the ethics of extending empathy toward robots, and consider how to engineer robots that elicit empathy. We then review empirical work on empathy received from robots to explore psychological, philosophical, and engineering implications. In our final section, we suggest how interactions with robots might cultivate human empathy. Can interactions with a robot build human empathy and help it to become more resilient and reliable?