The robots that share our public areas as we speak are so demure. Social robots and service robots goal to keep away from offense, erring towards well mannered airs, constructive feelings, and obedience. In some methods, this is sensible—would you actually need to have a yelling match with a delivery robot in a resort? 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 Thoughtlessly following such outdated social norms in robotic design could also be ill-advised, because it can help to reinforce outdated or harmful ideas akin to proscribing individuals’s rights and reflecting solely the wants of majority-identity customers.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 luxuriate in difficult the problematic norms which are 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 Find out how to Examine Cursing Robots
Societal requirements within the United States recommend that cursing robots would seemingly rub individuals the improper approach in most contexts, as swearing has a predominantly unfavourable connotation. Though some previous analysis exhibits that cursing can enhance team cohesion and elicit humor, sure members of society (akin to ladies) are sometimes anticipated to avoid risking offense via profanity. We questioned whether or not cursing robots could be seen 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 (relatively than ignoring it) will help robots be perceived extra positively in human-populated areas, particularly within the case of non-public 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 widespread 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 individuals to fee the robots on issues like competence, discomfort, and likability, utilizing normal scales in an internet survey.
What If Robots Cursed? These Movies Helped Us Study How Folks Really feel about Profane RobotsVideo: Naomi Fitter
What Folks Considered Our Cursing Robots
On the entire, we had been stunned by how acceptable swearing appeared to the research contributors, particularly inside an preliminary group of Oregon State College college students, however even among the many common public as properly. Cursing had no unfavourable impression, and even some constructive impacts, among the many faculty college students after we eliminated one religiously connotated curse (god***it), which gave the impression to be obtained in a stronger unfavourable approach than different cuss phrases.
The truth is, college contributors 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 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 at all times signify real-life interactions properly, we additionally carried out a remaining replication research in individual with a robotic that made errors whereas distributing goodie luggage to campus group members at Oregon State, which strengthened our prior outcomes.
People React to a Cursing Robotic within the WildVideo: Naomi Fitter
We have submitted this work, which represents a well-designed series of empirical experiments with interesting results and replications along the way, to several different journals and conferences. Despite consistently enthusiastic reviewer comments, no editors have yet accepted our work for publication—it seems to be the type of paper that editors are nervous to touch. Currently, the work is under review for a fourth time, for possible inclusion in the 2025 IEEE International Conference on Robot 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
Based mostly on our outcomes, we expect cursing robots deserve an opportunity! Our findings present that swearing robots would sometimes 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 folks 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 in terms 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 seemingly maintain again their swear phrases round kids and be extra cautious in settings that sometimes demand cleaner language. Robotic practitioners may also take into account surveying particular person customers about profanity acceptance as they arrange new expertise in private settings—relatively than letting robotic methods study the exhausting approach, maybe alienating customers within the course of.
As extra robots enter our day-to-day areas, they’re certain to make errors. How they react to those errors is essential. Essentially, our work exhibits that folks want robots that discover when a mistake has occurred and react to this error in a relatable approach. And it appears that evidently a spread of types within the response itself, from the profane to the mundane, can work properly. So we invite designers to present cursing robots an opportunity!
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