New Study Says Human Biases Can Extend to Robots

So this is kind of a new entry in the WTF file...but apparently racist robots are a thing?

Kinda? Let me explain...

The study, "Robots and Racism," notes that most robots seen in popular culture like in "I, Robot" and "Wall-E" are white.

Study lead researcher, Christoph Bartneck says the same goes for many real-life robots used by companies like Honda and NASA:

"The bias against black robots is a result of bias against African-Americans. It is amazing to see how people who had no prior interaction with robots show racial bias towards them."

Bartneck points out that since robots are often constructed with human features, they should "represent the diversity of humans."

"Imagine a world in which all Barbie dolls are white. In the same way that we do want Barbie dolls in all colors and shapes, we also want robots in more than just white."


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