People want their robots to be expressive and communicative

Everyone who has ever read a piece of science fiction literature knows that humanity is going to employ more and more robots. They will work for us everywhere – in factories, in our homes, schools and so on. However, a new study from UCL and the University of Bristol has revealed that humans prefer having robots that are more expressive and emotional, even if it comes at a price of a lower efficiency. These results come as a surprise, because one would imagine that a robot is just a machine and its value can be judged by how well it accomplishes the tasks we assign to it. However, people look at robots in their close environment differently and they want them to be more human even if it means they make more mistakes.