Kate Darling on human-machine partnerships

May 1, 2024

MIT research scientist Kate Darling discusses human-robot emotional connections, trust in AI, interactions with robots at home, and the future of human-AI partnerships in the workplace. She highlights the importance of understanding human psychology in technology development and the potential societal impacts of AI companions.

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Introduction

00:00 • 5min

Human-Robot Emotional Connections

04:34 • 6min

Trust and Collaboration with Intelligent Agents

10:34 • 9min

Exploring Human Reactions to Robots in the Home Environment

19:46 • 3min

Exploring Human-Machine Interactions and the Rise of AI Companions

22:17 • 10min

Exploring the Evolving Dynamics of Human-AI Interaction

32:43 • 3min

For our first episode of Working Smarter we’re talking to Kate Darling, a research scientist at MIT’s Media Lab and author of The New Breed: What Our History with Animals Reveals about Our Future with Robots.

Darling has spent more than a decade studying human-robot interaction through a social, legal, and ethical lens. She’s interested in how people relate to robots and digital constructs, socially and emotionally—whether it’s an AI-powered chatbot or one of the many robotic dinosaurs that Kate has in her home.

Hear Darling talk about the bonds we’re already forming with our smart—and not-so-smart—devices at work and at home, and why our relationship with animals might be a better way to frame the interactions we’re having with increasingly intelligent machines.

Show notes:

Visit katedarling.org to learn more about Kate Darling and her work.
The New Breed: What Our History with Animals Reveals about Our Future with Robots is available now.
The two papers mentioned in this episode are "Bonding with a Couchsurfing Robot: The Impact of Common Locus on Human-Robot Bonding In-the-Wild" by Joost Mollen, Peter van der Putten, and Kate Darling, and "How does my robot know who I am?: Understanding the Impact of Education on Child-Robot Relationships" by Daniella DiPaola.
Read the full transcript of this interview on our website.

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Working Smarter is a new podcast from Dropbox about how AI is changing the way we work and get stuff done.

You can listen to more episodes of Working Smarter on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, or wherever you get your podcasts. To read more stories and past interviews, visit workingsmarter.ai

This show would not be possible without the talented team at Cosmic Standard, namely: our producers Samiah Adams and Aja Simpson, technical director Jacob Winik, and executive producer Eliza Smith. Special thanks to Benjy Baptiste for production assistance, our marketing and PR consultant Meggan Ellingboe, and our illustrators, Fanny Luor and Justin Tran. Our theme song was created by Doug Stuart. Working Smarter is hosted by Matthew Braga.

Thanks for listening!