The robots that share our public areas at present are so demure. Social robots and service robots goal to keep away from offense, erring towards well mannered airs, optimistic feelings, and obedience. In some methods, this is sensible—would you actually need to have a yelling match with a delivery robot in a resort? Most likely not, even in case you’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 Thoughtlessly following such outdated social norms in robotic design could also be ill-advised, because it can help to reinforce outdated or harmful ideas equivalent to limiting individuals’s rights and reflecting solely the wants of majority-identity customers.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 revel in difficult the problematic norms which are 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 How one can Research Cursing Robots
Societal requirements within the United States recommend that cursing robots would seemingly rub individuals the fallacious method in most contexts, as swearing has a predominantly unfavourable connotation. Though some previous analysis reveals that cursing can enhance team cohesion and elicit humor, sure members of society (equivalent to girls) are sometimes anticipated to avoid risking offense via profanity. We puzzled whether or not cursing robots could be considered negatively, or if they may maybe provide advantages in sure conditions.
We determined to review cursing robots within the context of responding to errors. Previous work in human-robot interplay has already proven that responding to error (somewhat than ignoring it) can assist robots be perceived extra positively in human-populated areas, particularly within the case of non-public 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 frequent varieties of robotic failure: bumping right into a desk, dropping an object, and failing to understand 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 price the robots on issues like competence, discomfort, and likability, utilizing normal scales in an internet survey.
What Folks Considered Our Cursing Robots
On the entire, we have been stunned by how acceptable swearing appeared to the examine contributors, particularly inside an preliminary group of Oregon State College college students, however even among the many normal public as properly. Cursing had no unfavourable influence, and even some optimistic impacts, among the many faculty college students after we eliminated one religiously connotated curse (god***it), which appeared to be acquired in a stronger unfavourable method than different cuss phrases.
In truth, college contributors 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 consider 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 an internet setting don’t all the time signify real-life interactions properly, we additionally carried out a ultimate replication examine in particular person with a robotic that made errors whereas distributing goodie luggage to campus neighborhood members at Oregon State, which strengthened our prior outcomes.
We have now 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 completely 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 evaluate for a fourth time, for attainable 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 expect 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 equivalent to college campuses. Even for most of the people, reactions to errors with profanity yielded a lot much less distaste than we anticipated. Our information confirmed that folks cared extra about whether or not robots acknowledged their error in any respect than whether or not or not they swore.
Folks do have some reservations about cursing robots, particularly in relation 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 additionally contemplate surveying particular person customers about profanity acceptance as they arrange new know-how in private settings—somewhat than letting robotic techniques study the arduous method, 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 essential. Basically, our work reveals that folks favor robots that discover when a mistake has occurred and react to this error in a relatable method. And plainly a spread of types within the response itself, from the profane to the mundane, can work properly. So we invite designers to present cursing robots an opportunity!
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