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Saving Private Robot: Risks and Advantages of Anthropomorphism in Agent-Soldier Teams

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Abstract

Hybrid military teams, formed by human warfighters and autonomous artificial agents, represent the technological future of Defence operations. Both the potential and the inherent limitations of current technology are well-known, but the cognitive–behavioral and motivational aspects of human–robot interaction on the battlefield have yet to be systematically investigated. To lay the theoretical and methodological foundation of this scientific investigation, our position paper critically examines how the military personnel’s spontaneous tendency to anthropomorphize artificial autonomous agents can affect operations of hybrid military teams in multiple ways. We will argue that the psychological impact of anthropomorphism on military personnel is neither easily avoidable nor necessarily detrimental. Correctly identifying the multi-level cognitive mechanisms that underpin implicit and explicit forms of anthropomorphism allows us to increase the efficacy of human–agent interaction. We will argue that, within hybrid teams, the capability to communicate with teammates, allies, civilians, and adversaries relies on embodied social cognition processes that are inherently geared toward anthropomorphism and leverage its effects. By updating both the design of autonomous artificial agents and the training of human troops to account for these processes, their reciprocal coordination can be augmented.

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Funding

This material is based upon work supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Minerva Initiative under Award Number FA9550-18-1-0039. The work has also received the support of the Australian Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Values in Defence and Security Technology Group, School of Engineering and Information Technology, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia

    Massimiliano L. Cappuccio & Jai C. Galliott

  2. AI & Robotics Lab, United Arab Emirates University, Abu Dhabi, UAE

    Massimiliano L. Cappuccio

  3. Creative Robotics Lab, University of New South Wales, Kensington, Australia

    Eduardo B. Sandoval

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  1. Massimiliano L. Cappuccio
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  2. Jai C. Galliott
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  3. Eduardo B. Sandoval
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Correspondence to Massimiliano L. Cappuccio.

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Cappuccio, M.L., Galliott, J.C. & Sandoval, E.B. Saving Private Robot: Risks and Advantages of Anthropomorphism in Agent-Soldier Teams. Int J of Soc Robotics 14, 2135–2148 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12369-021-00755-z

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