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You might think of robots as unfeeling, and maybe even kind of cold.
你可能会认为机器人冷酷无情，甚至有点冷漠。
But just because they can't feel emotions themselves, doesn't mean that interacting with them can't touch us emotionally—
但仅因为它们感觉不到情感，并不意味着与它们互动就不能在情感上触动我们。
as you might know if you've ever tried to keep a Tamagotchi alive or put googly eyes on a Roomba.
如果你曾试着让一个电子宠物鸡活着，或者傻傻地盯着一个吸尘器，你可能知道那种感觉。
And in recent years, scientists have actually been making robots that aren't just for carrying out mechanical tasks,
近几年，科学家们实际上一直在制造机器人，它们不仅是为了执行机械任务，
but are actually meant to help us with the ins and outs of social interaction.
实际上是为了帮我们进行各种各样的社交活动。
Now, the list of robots you'd want to hang with might be pretty short, but in some cases, robots can make decent pals!
现在，你想与其一起遛弯的机器人可能还很少，但在某些情况下，机器人可以成为不错的朋友！
For instance, in a 2007 study, researchers from Japan designed a robot to study social interactions in autistic children.
例如，在一项2007年的研究中，来自日本的研究人员设计了一个机器人，用以研究自闭症儿童的社交互动。
The robot, Keepon, is small, adorable, and only capable of expressing a few things.
这个叫基蓬的机器人小巧可爱，只会表达很少的一些东西。
It can show pleasure, excitement, fear, and the direction of its gaze.
它能表现出快乐、兴奋、恐惧，还能注视某个方向。
Even though the robot's actions are remote-controlled by a human, the emotions it's designed to express are easier for autistic children to process.
尽管机器人的动作由人类遥控，但它设计用来表达的情感对自闭症儿童来说更容易接受。
Basically, it transforms common social cues into expressions that are simpler and clearer.
基本上，它将常见的社交线索转换成更简单、更清晰的表达方式。
For neurotypical people, many social situations might seem straightforward,
对于神经质的人来说，很多社交场合看起来很简单，
but they actually require you to juggle a whole lot of information—
但实际上却需要处理很多信息，
like facial expressions, tone of voice, and the perspectives of the people around you.
比如面部表情、语调和周围人的观点。
For autistic children, processing all this information simultaneously can be overwhelming and stressful
对于自闭症儿童来说，同时处理所有这些信息会让他们感到压力重重，
—which can make it tough to understand the nuances of typical social behavior.
难以理解典型社会行为的细微差别。
On top of that, the way autistic people naturally express themselves can be different from the way that neurotypical people do.
除此之外，自闭症患者自然表达自己的方式可能不同于典型的神经质者。
As a result, autistic and neurotypical people often have trouble interpreting each other's nonverbal cues.
因此，自闭症和神经质者往往难以理解对方的非言语暗示。
But the study found that the robot's expressions made it easier for these kids to understand social cues that came via the robot,
但研究发现，机器人的表情让这些孩子更容易理解通过机器人传递的社会线索，
and sometimes even clues that came from other humans.
有时甚至是来自其他人的线索。
Even among people who are already confident in their social skills,
即使在那些已经对自己的社交技能充满信心的人当中，
robots can help strengthen social interactions—for example, by creating an environment where it's okay to be vulnerable.
机器人也可以帮助加强社交互动，例如，创造出一个自己显得脆弱也没关系的环境。
In a 2020 study from Yale University, researchers divided 153 people into 51 groups consisting of three humans and one robot.
耶鲁大学在2020年的一项研究中，研究人员将153人分成51组，包括3个人和1个机器人。
Their task was to design efficient rail routes using a tablet app, over the course of rounds. It was designed to be tense and competitive.
他们的任务是用一个平板电脑应用设计高效的铁路路线，研究人员将该任务设计得紧张又充满竞争。
While the humans were free to talk as much as they wanted, the robot did one of three things.
虽然人们可以自由地说他们想说的话，但机器人只做三件事中的一件。
It either remained silent, said something neutral about the task at hand,
它们要么保持沉默，对手头的任务说一些中立的话，
or somehow expressed vulnerability—either through a joke or a personal story, or by admitting to a mistake in the last round.
要么讲个笑话或个人故事，或者通过承认上一轮犯的错误，表达自己的无助。
On teams where the robots expressed vulnerability, the other group members ended up speaking twice as much,
在机器人表现出无助感的团队中，其他团队成员的发言量是其他团队的两倍，
and they even reported that they enjoyed the game more than other teams.
他们甚至表示自己比其他团队更喜欢这个比赛。
The researchers believe that, even though it was totally synthetic, the robot's vulnerability changed the dynamic of the group.
研究人员认为，尽管机器人完全是人工合成的，但它的无助感改变了群体的动态。
It's a lot like how a person might break the ice by cracking a joke—
这很像一个人通过开玩笑打破僵局，
the robot's little quips changed how players felt about the whole situation, and their behavior shifted in response.
机器人的小玩笑改变了参与者对整个情况的感受，他们的行为也随之改变。
That whole concept poses some interesting possibilities.
整个概念提出了一些有趣的可能性。
Like, if robots are able to change the way humans respond to each other socially,
比如，如果机器人能够改变人类在社交上的反应方式，
maybe a friendly office robot could help keep the mood light during crunch time.
也许一个友好的办公机器人可以帮助人们在紧张时刻保持轻松的心情。
For now, at least, it's probably easier to leave that to your coworker with the dad jokes - HANK!
至少现在，把这件事留给那位用爸爸开玩笑的同事汉克可能更容易些！
- but the experiment does give us new ideas about what roles robots could play in our lives in the future.
但是这个实验确实赋予我们一些新的想法，关于机器人在我们未来的生活中可以扮演何种角色。
Finally, future robots might not just help us get along with friends and coworkers—
最后，未来的机器人可能不仅能帮助我们与朋友和同事相处，
they may also help liven up some of the lonely times that come with old age.
还能帮助我们度过老年时的孤独时光。
That's why a number of research teams have been working on developing robotic pets—like this one, named Jennie.
这就是为什么许多研究小组一直致力于开发像这样的机器人宠物，它叫珍妮。
Take a look at this pupper and tell me you don't feel at least a little warm and fuzzy.
看看这个木偶，告诉我你感受不到一点温暖和毛茸茸的感觉。
Go ahead, try. Tell me.
来吧，试一下，告诉我。
Robots like Jennie, which are a type of social robot, are generally used to care for people who struggle with loneliness or anxiety and can't reliably care for a pet,
像珍妮这样的机器人是社交机器人的一种，一般用来照顾那些与孤独或焦虑作斗争，不能可靠地照顾宠物的人，
such as people in nursing homes, or those with dementia.
比如养老院中的人，或痴呆症患者。
Robots like this can offer companionship—kind of like a pet without all the responsibility—
像这样的机器人可以提供像宠物一样的陪伴，而不用承担任何责任。
and there's also evidence that they can brighten up the social lives of people in residential and dementia care.
有证据表明，它们可以让居住区和老年痴呆症护理中心的人们的社交生活更加愉快。
A study from 2006 found that having a social robot active for nine hours a day in a nursing home was great for residents.
2006年的一项研究发现，让社交机器人每天在疗养院活动9小时对住在那里的人来说是件好事。
It strengthened their new and old relationships, simply because, no matter what people's cognitive abilities were,
它加强了居住者之间新的和旧有的关系，无论人们的认知能力如何，
they could interact with the robot, and that shared experience brought them closer to other residents and caregivers.
仅是因为他们可以与机器人互动，这种分享的经验使他们更接近其他居住者和护理员。
And it's not just their social lives that got a boost.
不仅是他们的社交生活得到了提升。
Urine tests that measure chemical signals of stress in the body showed
对体内压力化学信号的尿检显示，
that after people started hanging out with the robots, their vital organs showed fewer signs of stress.
人们开始与机器人交往后，他们的重要器官显示出更少的压力信号。
Meanwhile, psychological tests showed that residents' overall levels of stress improved, too.
同时，心理测试显示，居住者的整体压力水平也有所改善。
And things kept getting better. Weeks after the robot was introduced,
情况越来越好。在引入机器人数周后，
researchers observed that elderly adults' social activity kept growing steadily.
研究人员观察到老年人的社交活动保持稳定增长。
So, it seems that maybe in the not-so-distant future, it could be time for many of us to invite robotic pals into our social circles.
所以，似乎在不久的将来，我们中的许多人都会邀请机器人朋友加入我们的社交圈。
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow Psych!
感谢收看本期《心理科学秀》节目！
And if you like this video, you might like our SciShow episode about five of the most important inventions in robotics,
如果你喜欢本视频，你可能会喜欢科学秀制作的关于机器人技术中五项最重要发明的节目，
which helped make robots such a useful part of our lives.
这些发明使机器人成为我们生活中有用的一部分。
