Če čustveno računalništvo temelji na različnih tehnologijah in sistemih, je socialna robotika še toliko bolj.Not only do they have to analyze a user's emotions from multiple cues, as affective computing does, but they also have to be able to respond and interact as a separate entity.V tem procesu so se raziskovalci veliko naučili ne le o tem, kako oblikovati te stroje, ampak tudi o naši lastni psihologiji in kako uspeti.
Da bi roboti resnično komunicirali z ljudmi, bi morali v idealnem primeru komunicirati z nami na enak način kot mi z ljudmi.Da bi to naredili, morajo biti sposobni identificirati osebo in sklepati, kaj ta oseba počne in kako ta oseba to počne.This means accurately assessing not only one's external state, but also one's internal state.
This is known in human psychology as "Theory ofMind" (ToM) and mostly begins to develop between the ages of two and five.Razvoj te sposobnosti nam omogoča, da prepoznamo in pripišemo duševna stanja drugih, ki so ločena od nas in neodvisna od nas, vključno z znanjem, prepričanji, čustvi, potrebami in nameni ter drugimi stanji.Ustvarjanje in uporaba teorije uma o robotih in drugi UMETNI inteligenci se v delih skupnosti AI vidi kot velik izziv.
Ni zagotovila, da bo ta korak sčasoma dosežen, a če lahko z redukcionističnega stališča domnevamo, da je um mogoče reducirati na fizične lastnosti možganov, bi moral biti cilj sčasoma dosežen.Pod to predpostavko bi lahko nekega dne postala možna robotska zavest.Meanwhile, there's another way theory of mind could make robots more like humans, and that's on the human side.From a human perspective, robots don't really need to have an internal state of being aware of each other like humans do.Samo dovolj dobro mora posnemati, da verjamemo, da ve.
Med obema je zelo pomembna razlika, saj žirija še ni prepričana, ali bodo stroji kdaj zares zavedni.And until it does, we'll be happy if it mimics well enough.Zakaj torej želimo to storiti?That's because it's the most realistic social interaction we can have through the interface under existing conditions.Given that we still don't know exactly what consciousness is, how it works, or how it comes about, it will be some time before artificial intelligence becomes conscious, if machines ever become conscious.
With a better understanding of how theory of mind works, we may be able to create the illusion that we are interacting with an other with a "perception" similar to our own.Even if it's known that robots aren't really conscious, it's still good for interaction and communication to be willing to believe it.