A trash talking robot hurling 'mild insults' was able to put humans off their stride

Trash talk has been part of sport and human competition for as long as people have been competitive, but now robots are getting in on the game. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, programmed a robot called Pepper to use mild insults such as'you are a terrible player' and'your playing has become confused'. It would then use these insults while challenging a human to a game called'Guards and Treasures' that is designed to test rationality. Even though the robot used very mild language, the human player's performance got worse while they were being insulted, according to lead author Aaron M. Roth. The team say tests like this could help work out how humans will respond in future if a robot assistant disagrees with a command, such as over whether to buy healthy or unhealthy food.