Robots have the power to 'significantly influence' children's opinions, scientists warn

Robots can'significantly influence' children's opinions, researchers have found. Experts used a classic psychological test to compare how adults and children respond to an identical task when in the presence of their peers and robots. They showed that while adult's opinions are often influenced by peers, they are easily able to resist being persuaded by robots - with children aged between seven and nine were more likely to give the same responses as the robots, even if they were obviously incorrect. Experts used a classic psychological test to compare how adults and children respond to an identical task when in the presence of their peers and robots. The study, conducted at the University of Plymouth and called titled'Children conform, adults resist', used the Asch paradigm - first developed in the 1950s - which asked people to look at a screen showing four lines and say which two match in length.