The new human experiment has shown that we are able to feel empathy for robots in ‘pain’, even if we know that they aren’t alive, Joinfo.com reports with the reference to WIRED.
On the other hand, robots still have no potential to feel the same for humans. But the scientists assume that the situation is going to be changed.
The discovery about humans genuine sympathy for the machines was made by researchers at Toyohashi University of Technology and Kyoto University in Japan.
Researchers have found the first evidence that humans are able to empathize with the perceived pain of robots.
A team of scientists performed an EEG scan on 15 adults who observed pictures of either humans or robots in situations that appeared painful or non-painful — including (non-violent) pictures of people and androids being apparently cut by a knife, or sliced by a pair of scissors.
The researchers found that humans were able to empathize with humanoid robots in perceived pain in a similar fashion to humans experiencing pain. But the beginning phase of the so-called ‘top-down’ process of empathy was weaker toward robots.
These results suggest that we empathize with humanoid robots in a similar way to how we empathize with other humans.
As was reported earlier, scientists have revealed a new lithium-oxygen ‘super-battery’ that is much more powerful, then the current lithium-ion system. According to the news reports, the new product might give electric cars the same range, as a full tank of gas.