Developmental changes in the perceived moral standing of robots.

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Human-Robot Interaction
• Artificial Intelligence Ethics

Background:

• Children's perceptions of artificial intelligence (AI) and robots are evolving.
• Understanding children's moral reasoning towards non-human entities is crucial.
• The developmental trajectory of attributing moral standing to robots is under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the developmental changes in children's attribution of moral standing and mental life to robots.
• To compare children's judgments of robots with those of adult participants.
• To examine the relationship between age, perceived mental capacities, and moral standing of robots in children.

Main Methods:

• Three developmental studies (N=415) and one adult study (N=156) were conducted.
• Participants' judgments and donation choices were compared across a human boy, a humanoid robot, and control targets.
• Developmental trajectory of belief in robots' moral standing and mental life was traced.

Main Results:

• Children generally endorsed robots as having moral standing and mental life.
• With increasing age, children were less likely to attribute experiential mental life to robots.
• Older children's judgments mirrored adult participants' views, who largely denied these attributes to robots.

Conclusions:

• Children's moral cognition develops in relation to emerging technologies like robots and AI.
• Perceptions of robots' mental capacities significantly influence their ascribed moral standing.
• Findings offer insights into the evolving relationship between children and advanced technological entities.