Exploring the Situated Vulnerabilities of Robots for Interpersonal Trust in Human-Robot Interaction

Abstract

The practical value of studying trust in human-robot interaction (HRI) rests on the assumption that people will, in the long-term, accept, interact, and collaborate more with robots that they trust or consider trustworthy. We propose in this book chapter to take our event approach to interpersonal trust in HRI and we argue why focusing on robot vulnerabilities will benefit current discussions on trust in robots and their perceived trustworthiness. On a theoretical level, we first argue that it is important to challenge the often negative view of the conceptual relationship between interpersonal trust and vulnerability in HRI as it has mainly comes to represent overexposure. Moreover, identifying robot-specific vulnerabilities is essential when exploring interpersonal trust in interactions between humans and robots (or HRI) because it overlaps but is not identical to those important to a human-centered perspective. To empirically explore robot vulnerabilities, we present the results of eight semi-structured expert interviews with experienced leaders in robotics. Based on these interviews, we identify the various robot vulnerabilities mentioned by the experts to present a systematic overview. Furthermore, we discuss how the experts interpreted the notion of vulnerability in relation to robots specifically and dive more into how malicious human behavior can be problematic when aiming to ensure mutual interpersonal trust in HRI. Moreover, we aim in this book chapter to lay down our motivation and arguments for why taking into account robot vulnerabilities provide a crucial and broader perspective on mutual trust in HRI, which is fundamental to strengthening interaction, collaboration and engagement between humans and robots.