A robot has learned to use irony and now people like it more

This 30-centimetre-high robot combines nonchalant facial expressions with deadpan delivery in a way that its inventors hope will make it appear more natural. By incorporating irony into its dialogue, they say it could be used to gently break bad news and persuade people to do things they otherwise wouldn't. "Think of a robot in the role of a life style advisor that feels the user should be more active and has to convey this message without appearing rude," says Elisabeth André at Augsburg University.