<h2>&#8220;No Baxter, That&#8217;s Mine!&#8221;</h2>
What is yours is not mine, and what is mine is not yours — unless we agree to share it.
This simple example of how we agree on ownership of objects around us is something that may come naturally to us, but it&#8217;s a notion that robotic systems have to be taught first — in much the same way a child is taught about what belongs to them, and what doesn&#8217;t.
And a group of researchers at Yale University tried to do just that. They successfully taught a robotic system about ownership relations and the social norms that determine those relations — a much overlooked, but critical aspect of human-machine interaction.
And the results are promising: in a series of simulations, the robot could infer which objects belonged to it, and which didn&#8217;t — even with a &#8220;limited amount of training data,&#8221; according to a <a href="https://arxiv.org/pdf/1812.02576.pdf">pre-written paper</a>.
<h2>Peaceful Coexistence</h2>
&#8220;With the growing prevalence of AI and robotics in our social lives, social competence is becoming a crucial component for intelligent systems that interact with humans,&#8221; reads the paper. &#8220;Yet, explicating and implementing these norms in a robot is a deceptively challenging problem.&#8221;
The robotic system the researchers devised used a machine learning algorithm to learn from a series of rule violations — &#8220;No Baxter, that&#8217;s mine!&#8221; reads a speech bubble under a picture presented in the paper — and could even infer ownership purely based on the object&#8217;s qualities.
&#8220;One of the challenges in this work is that some of the ways that we learn about ownership are through being told explicit rules (e.g., &#8216;don&#8217;t take my tools&#8217;) and others are learned through experience,&#8221; Brian Scassellati, one of the scientists working on the project, <a href="https://techxplore.com/news/2018-12-robot-capable-ownership-norms.amp">told</a> TechXplore. &#8220;Combining these two types of learning may be easy for people, but is much more challenging for robots.&#8221;
<h2>&#8220;I&#8217;m Afraid I Can&#8217;t Do That&#8221;</h2>
And it will become increasingly important for us to find ways to make robots understand these rules going forward. &#8220;Understanding about object ownerships, permissions, and customs is one of these topics that hasn&#8217;t really received much attention but will be critical to the way that machines operate in our homes, schools, and offices,&#8221; said Scassellati.
READ MORE: <a href="https://techxplore.com/news/2018-12-robot-capable-ownership-norms.amp">A new robot capable of learning ownership relations and norms</a> [TechXplore] 

More on robots and social norms: <a href="https://futurism.com/the-byte/culturally-sensitive-robots">Culturally Sensitive Robots Are Here to Care for the Elderly</a>

It's a key aspect to how humans will relate and interact with robots in the future.

Researchers taught an AI about ownership rules and social norms

Bad Robot

A group of researchers at Yale University successfully taught a robotic system about ownership relations and the social norms that surround those relations.

Researchers Taught an AI About Ownership Rules and Social Norms

"No Baxter, that's mine!"

<a href="https://ad.doubleclick.net/ddm/trackclk/N3493.2541303FUTURISM.COM/B21713802.229166227;dc_trk_aid=427200438;dc_trk_cid=106048431;dc_lat=;dc_rdid=;tag_for_child_directed_treatment=;tfua=">Anki’s Vector</a> isn’t exactly a robotic pet, and he isn’t exactly another home assistant either. He’s somewhere in between, blurring the line between utility and play in a way that only Anki can nail. Unlike other home assistants, Vector is a robot sidekick you’ll actually want to hang out with. He can recognize his owners, express joy (or sadness) depending on his mood, and is generally just fun to have around your home. “Hey Vector” triggers his built-in utilities and voice commands and evokes a much more emotive response than any other home assistant we’ve seen. Vector is like a lovable puppy, his mood lights up when he sees someone he recognizes. With a variety of fun features (blackjack, anyone?), and an upcoming option to add Amazon Alexa, he’s as much functional as he is fun. And after spending a day with him, we’d much rather interact with Vector over the other “brick-based” home assistants. If only all AI were this friendly. <a href="https://ad.doubleclick.net/ddm/trackclk/N3493.2541303FUTURISM.COM/B21713802.229166227;dc_trk_aid=427200438;dc_trk_cid=106048431;dc_lat=;dc_rdid=;tag_for_child_directed_treatment=;tfua=">Get yours today</a>. 
Want more gift ideas? Check out the full <a href="https://futurism.com/gift-guide">2018 Futurism Gift Guide here!</a>
Futurism fans: To create this content, a non-editorial team worked with Anki, who sponsored this post. They help us keep the lights on. This post does not reflect the views or the endorsement of the Futurism.com editorial staff.

Anki's Vector robot is like a robot pet that also helps control your home.

Vector by Anki: your new robot sidekick

Brands We Love

Anki’s Vector robot companion is half robotic friend and half home assistant. It's like a home assistant or a smart speaker that moves around your home.

Vector by Anki: Your New Robot Sidekick

It's like a cross between a robot pet and a robot butler.

Siri is just an assistant. AVA’s neural network and virtual brainstem make her almost as human as you.

Robots & Machines

Siri is just an assistant. AVA's neural network and virtual brainstem make her an AI almost as human as you.

Soul Machines: Engineering Lifelike, Emotionally Responsive AI

Despite the common preconception that creating emotionally intelligent computers is something that won&#8217;t happen until far into the future, computers can already augment — and in some cases even replace — emotional intelligence (EQ). In fact, while we may think of human emotional intelligence as our own unique province, computers are proving that this isn&#8217;t necessarily the case.
One of the primary reasons humans sometimes fail to read the emotions of others accurately, readily believe lies, or miss social cues, is due to our focus on our own emotions. Computers, on the other hand, have no emotional entanglements of their own, which gives them an advantage. They can therefore focus entirely on the task of perceiving emotions in human subjects.
As University College London professor of business psychology <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media-network/2016/sep/09/robot-boss-best-manager-artificial-intelligence" target="_blank">Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic explains</a>:
<blockquote>
Robots do not need to be able to feel in order to act in an emotionally intelligent manner. In fact, contrary to what people think, even in humans high EQ is associated with lower rather than higher emotionality. [High EQ] is about controlling one’s impulses and inhibiting strong emotions in order to act rationally and minimize emotional interference.
</blockquote>
Affective computing teaches computers to observe and interpret emotions in humans through body posture, facial features, gestures, physical states, and speech patterns. The next step is simply interpretation through trial and error, which is an ideal area for machine learning and AI.
Researchers are learning to replicate human emotions in robots for a variety of applications. One example? Consider Wall Street stock traders, who have to make split-second decisions with millions of dollars of other peoples&#8217; money. It&#8217;s a high pressure environment, and emotional health of employees isn&#8217;t typically optimal. This can lead to life-changing errors in judgment. Now, <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/02/emotionally-intelligent-computers-may-already-have-a-higher-eq-than-you/" target="_blank">large businesses like Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase are partnering with tech companies</a> to monitor the emotional health of traders in hopes of preventing serious mistakes, improving performance, and ensuring compliance.
<figure style="width: 360px" class="wp-caption alignright"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/quest-lifelike-robots/"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2016/04/Uncanny-Resemblance_homw_v1.jpg" alt="The Quest For Lifelike Robots" ></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text center"><a href="https://futurism.com/images/quest-lifelike-robots/" target="_blank">Click to View Full Infographic</a></figcaption></figure>
<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-09-01/wall-street-s-next-frontier-is-hacking-into-emotions-of-traders" target="_blank">Bloomberg reports</a> that several banks are collaborating with Humanyze, a startup that produces badges with sensors and microphones for monitoring activity, speech, and stress patterns in real time, then transmitting relevant data to management. Managers can then take prompt action, reinforcing good behavior and assisting traders who may need intervention to avoid mistakes.
<h2>Robots and Relationships</h2>
As it turns out, emotional robots also excel in customer service. <a href="https://futurism.com/sony-to-create-robot-that-can-form-emotional-bond-with-people/" target="_blank">Sony has announced plans</a> to create customer service robots that will develop emotional bonds with customers. SoftBank&#8217;s Pepper— <a href="https://futurism.com/robot-rush-new-emotional-humanoid-sells-out-in-60-seconds/" target="_blank">billed as an emotional polyglot robot and interactive humanoid</a>— is another robot that has serious customer service potential. And apps like <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2016/12/02/emotionally-intelligent-computers-may-already-have-a-higher-eq-than-you/" target="_blank">Cogito use AI to guide human agents in using more emotional intelligence</a> as they work with customers, a clever reverse-application of the technology.
<a href="http://futureofsex.net/future-of-sex-report/" target="_blank">There&#8217;s also interpersonal potential that&#8217;s quite a bit more personal: The Future of Sex Report</a>, technology will be changing how we experience the human body  — sexual intercourse included — and <a href="https://futurism.com/the-future-of-sex-how-intimacy-is-transforming/" target="_blank">fully functional sex robots that are emotionally responsive</a> will be one of the most life-changing developments. But what could that mean for human relationships with machines, and their place within our society? Not to mention our relationships with each other? It begs the question: Why have a human significant other when you could have the perfect robot partner who has the emotional intelligence to meet your needs (and no needs of its own)?
In the meantime, more immediate uses for such robots will likely be geared toward therapeutic applications, possibly assisting humans who experience sexual dysfunction. Although it might be tempting to fear the worst of a future in which machines can detect our emotions, the reality is that emotional intelligence is already helping computing systems augment and surpass human capabilities.

Artificial Intelligence

Computers have no emotional entanglements of their own, so they can focus entirely on the task of perceiving emotions in human subjects.

An Emotionally Intelligent Computer May Already Have an ‘EQ’ Higher Than Yours

Could robots be better at detecting emotions than we are?

<h2>Meet Jia Jia</h2>
Jia Jia’s eyes freely scanned the audience as she stood in traditional Chinese garb for financial services company UBS&#8217;s economic conference in Shanghai this week. As demonstrated, she could recognize faces and learn things. Her conversational skills shone as she talked about the weather and coyly rebuffed personal questions. Her face was expressive — or, at least, as expressive as a robot&#8217;s face could be.
Around the world, Jia Jia has grown in popularity for being one of the most attractive, life-like humanoid robots ever created. But beauty, as they say, is only skin deep. As impressive as Jia Jia’s aesthetics are, it’s what’s inside that counts, and while her <a href="https://futurism.com/?s=artificial+intelligence" target="_blank">artificial intelligence (AI)</a> isn’t extraordinarily great, her current ability to address audiences and answer simple questions is a testament to the progress made by engineers from the <a href="http://en.ustc.edu.cn/" target="_blank">University of Science and Technology of China</a>.
Chen Xioping, leader of the team that created Jia Jia, believes their achievement stands as proof of China’s robotic future. Instead of relying on a human workforce, humanoid robots could take over essential tasks in nursing homes, hospitals, households, and restaurants, he claims. &#8220;In 5 to 10 years, there will be a lot of applications for robots in China,&#8221; <a href="http://phys.org/news/2017-01-bionic-woman-chinese-robot-charm.html" target="_blank">Chen said during the presentation</a>.
<figure style="width: 513px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img src="https://wp-assets.futurism.com/2017/01/2-thehumanoidr.jpg" width="513" height="335" /><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Image Credit: Phys.org</figcaption></figure>
<h2>Robots of the Future</h2>
It’s almost funny how the question of whether robots will change our lives in the future keeps coming up when machines are changing our lives right now. Technically, robots are automated, electronic machines capable of carrying out tasks for us. By that definition, we already have robots cooking our food, playing our music, recording our shows, and even driving our cars. But these robots don’t have a face. Perhaps the question really is this: &#8220;How will our interactions with robots change our lives in the future?&#8221;
Chen believes that humanoid robots will start ushering in a new wave of robot labor, and he’s not too far off. It’s important to note, however, that applications for these humanoid bots will extend well beyond the service industry.
Just last year, <a href="https://futurism.com/extreme-mars-future-missions-may-be-assisted-by-humanoid-robots/">NASA’s Robonaut 5 (R5)</a> was donated to MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) to explore how robots could assist, or even replace, human astronauts on extreme space missions. Meanwhile, Boston Dynamics’ <a href="https://futurism.com/videos/boston-dynamics-atlas-meet-next-generation-humanoid-robots/">Atlas</a>, which stands at a height of 1.6 meters (64 inches), can open doors, lift boxes, walk on uneven terrain, and detect changes to its environment in real time. Granted, it’s not as pretty Jia Jia, but it&#8217;s capable of a wider range of movements.
Speaking of agile robots, a DARPA-funded team called <a href="https://futurism.com/scientists-made-a-new-humanoid-robot-that-walks-just-like-a-human/">DURUS</a> created a robot that moves just like humans do. At this year&#8217;s CES, Hanson Robotics introduced <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6r9r9wUWKY">Professor Einstein</a>, a prototype that features life-like expressions, demonstrating a breakthrough in how humans could interface with computers in the future. Soon, we may find ourselves interacting with robot physicists and bots like Jia Jia with the same casualty that we currently stare at our smartphones.

This week, Chinese engineers demonstrated the capabilities of their life-like humanoid robot Jia Jia, showing she could recognize faces, learn, and engage in casual conversation. 
Advances in robotics and artificial intelligence are ushering in a new era of robot labor, with bots already in development for space exploration, education, and more.

/Ai Robots

Bad Robot

Researchers Taught an AI About Ownership Rules and Social Norms

Brands We Love

Vector by Anki: Your New Robot Sidekick

Robots & Machines

Soul Machines: Engineering Lifelike, Emotionally Responsive AI

Artificial Intelligence

An Emotionally Intelligent Computer May Already Have an ‘EQ’ Higher Than Yours

Robots & Machines

Humanoid Robots Eerily Converses With Audience at Conference

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