The robots that share our public areas immediately 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 smart—would you actually wish to have a yelling match with a delivery robot in a resort? In all probability not, even for those who’re in New York City and attempting 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 Thoughtlessly following such outdated social norms in robotic design could also be ill-advised, because it can help to reinforce outdated or harmful ideas corresponding to limiting individuals’s rights and reflecting solely the wants of majority-identity customers.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 might be entrenched inside “well mannered” interactions and social roles. So we determined to experiment with robots that use foul language round people. In spite of everything, many individuals are utilizing foul language greater than ever in 2025. Why not let robots have an opportunity, too?
Why and Methods to Research Cursing Robots
Societal requirements within the United States recommend that cursing robots would seemingly rub individuals the improper manner in most contexts, as swearing has a predominantly unfavorable connotation. Though some previous analysis reveals that cursing can enhance team cohesion and elicit humor, sure members of society (corresponding to girls) are sometimes anticipated to avoid risking offense via profanity. We puzzled whether or not cursing robots could be seen negatively, or if they may maybe supply advantages in sure conditions.
We determined to check cursing robots within the context of responding to errors. Previous work in human-robot interplay has already proven that responding to error (quite than ignoring it) might help robots be perceived extra positively in human-populated areas, particularly within the case of private 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 varieties of robotic failure: bumping right into a desk, dropping an object, and failing to know an object. We crossed these conditions with three varieties 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 customary scales in a web based survey.
What Individuals Considered Our Cursing Robots
On the entire, we have been stunned by how acceptable swearing appeared to the examine individuals, particularly inside an preliminary group of Oregon State College college students, however even among the many common public as nicely. Cursing had no unfavorable impression, and even some constructive impacts, among the many faculty college students after we eliminated one religiously connotated curse (god***it), which appeared to be acquired in a stronger unfavorable manner than different cuss phrases.
In actual fact, college individuals 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 have been deemed most discomforting and non-expletive responses appeared most likable. We imagine that the college college students have 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 a web based setting don’t all the time symbolize real-life interactions nicely, we additionally performed a closing replication examine in individual with a robotic that made errors whereas distributing goodie luggage to campus group members at Oregon State, which bolstered our prior outcomes.
We’ve submitted this work, which represents a well-designed collection of empirical experiments with fascinating outcomes and replications alongside the best way, to a number of totally different journals and conferences. Regardless of persistently enthusiastic reviewer feedback, no editors have but accepted our work for publication—it appears to be the kind of paper that editors are nervous to the touch. Presently, the work is beneath evaluation for a fourth time, for potential inclusion within the 2025 IEEE Worldwide Convention on Robotic 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 Probability
Primarily based on our outcomes, we predict 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 corresponding 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.
Individuals do have some reservations about cursing robots, particularly relating to 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 contemplate surveying particular person customers about profanity acceptance as they arrange new expertise in private settings—quite than letting robotic techniques be taught the laborious manner, maybe alienating customers within the course of.
As extra robots enter our day-to-day areas, they’re sure to make errors. How they react to those errors is vital. Basically, our work reveals that folks desire robots that discover when a mistake has occurred and react to this error in a relatable manner. And plainly a variety of kinds within the response itself, from the profane to the mundane, can work nicely. So we invite designers to offer cursing robots an opportunity!
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