Felling like a Robot: Depersonalisation and Social Attitudes Towards Artificial Bodies

The human self is constantly shaped by bodily and social interactions with others and the environment. Humans are highly social beings, increasingly interacting with artificial agents such as robots. Depersonalisation (DP) is a condition characterized by feelings of being detached from one’s self and body, leading to feelings of being a ‘robot’ or a ‘machine’. We have conducted a study looking at the relationship between feelings of self-detachment and (dis)embodiment and social attitudes towards robots. Specifically, we look at the effect of feeling disconnected from one’s self and body on how people relate with artificial others. Our findings reveal a significant positive correlation between DP traits and negative attitudes towards robots. This suggests that people with higher traits of DP had more negative attitudes towards robots. Our study highlights for the first time a clear link between the experience of being disconnected from one’s self and body and social attitudes towards artificial others. Our findings have deep implications for the field of social robotics, philosophical questions surrounding human and artificial selves, as well as ethical concerns related to integration of such technologies into our societies.