VOA慢速英语2021--A Robot’s Gaze Can Affect the Human Brain

Have you ever made eye contact with a robot?

It can be a very strange experience. Scientists even have a name for the feeling: the "uncanny valley."

Now, researchers at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) in Italy have found that it is more than just a feeling. They ran an experiment that showed how a robot's gaze can trick people into thinking they are socially interacting with a human being. That experience can slow a person's ability to make decisions.

"Gaze is an extremely important social signal that we employ on a day-to-day basis when interacting with others," said Professor Agnieszka Wykowska. She is the lead writer of a study on the research that recently appeared in the publication Science Robots.

"The question is whether the robot gaze will evoke¹ very similar mechanisms³ in the human brain as another human's gaze would," Wykowska told Reuters.

The team asked 40 people to play a video game of "chicken." In the game, each player has to decide whether to permit a car to drive straight toward another car or to turn to avoid a crash. The people were playing against a human-like robot sitting across from them.

During breaks in the game, players had to look at the robot. Sometimes the robot would look back and other times it would look away. As the interactions happened, the scientists collected data on behavior and brain activity.

"Our results show that, actually, the human brain processes the robot gaze as a social signal, and that signal has an impact on the way we're making decisions, on the strategies we deploy⁴ in the game and also on our responses," Wykowska said.

The "gaze of the robot affected⁵ decisions by delaying them, so humans were much slower in making the decisions in the game," she added.

The findings could be useful in helping⁶ to decide where and how human-like robots might be placed in the future.

When it is understood when and how robots change social behavior, "then we can decide which sort of context this is desirable and beneficial for humans and in which context this should not occur," Wykowska said.

Interest in service robots has grown quickly, says the International Federation⁷ of Robotics. From 2018 to 2019, sales increased 32 percent to $11.2 billion.

Words in This Story

uncanny — adj. strange and difficult to explain

gaze — n. the act of fixing the eyes steadily⁸ and intensely on something

evoke — v. to bring to mind or recollection

mechanism² — n. a system for achieving something

impact — n. the effect that a person, event or situation has on someone or something else

strategy — n. a plan used to achieve a particular goal

context — n. the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs

beneficial — adj. helpful or useful

1 evoke   

vt.唤起，引起，使人想起

参考例句：

• These images are likely to evoke a strong response in the viewer.这些图像可能会在观众中产生强烈反响。
• Her only resource was the sympathy she could evoke.她以凭借的唯一力量就是她能从人们心底里激起的同情。

2 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

3 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

7 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

8 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。