Furhat, a robot with the human touch, wants to hear your woes

LONDON – Furhat tilts his or her head, smiles, exudes empathy and warmth, and encourages us to open up. The robot, a 3D bust with a projection of a humanlike face, aims to build on our newfound ease talking to voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, by persuading us to interact with it as if it were a person, picking up on our cues to strike up a rapport. Yet precisely because it isn't human, and is therefore free from bias, the robot can spur people to engage more honestly, its creator says, making it useful in situations such as screening for health risks where people often lie. "We've seen research that shows that in certain situations people are more comfortable opening up and talking about difficult issues with a robot than with a human," said Samer Al Moubayed, chief executive of Furhat Robotics. That's because a robot's personality can mirror the personality of the person interacting with it and because people don't feel judged, he added.