Oikos Members DiscussHuman-Robot Interactionat International Workshop

OKLAHOMA CITY - Ted Metzler understands and loves to connect two topics that are not yet combined very often: theology and robots. The director of Oklahoma City University's Darrel W. Hughes Program for Religion and Science Dialogue, Metzler has taken his expertise on both subjects to an international audience.

For the second straight year, Metzler has chaired the organization of a workshop titled “Human Implications of Human-Robot Interaction” at the annual conference of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI). The 2007 workshop, held in Vancouver, Canada, addressed moral and social concerns expected to arise as human interaction with artificially intelligent robots increases. Oklahoma City University Religion Dean Mark Davies helped present the workshop, discussing the ethical implications of humans relating in personal ways withrobots.

Workshop participants came from a broad range of backgrounds including representatives from Japanese universities, U.K. scientists, New England philosophers and NASA scientist Robert Savely who has worked with the organization's robotics division since the Apollo program.

Metzler said he hopes to facilitate responsible ongoing dialogue among the religion, technology and science communities. Particularly concerning the rapidly growing technology of humanoid robots, he explained “I am trying to run ahead of the developments by a few years and jump start some dialogue to avoid a situation where people become startled by these developments and don't know how to react.” Metzler added “This is a very potent technology with regard to its effects on people.”

Although he has previously worked on military applications of artificial intelligence, Metzler currently focuses much of his attention upon humanoid robotics for a number of reasons. “I am concerned about effects of humanoid robots on people's moral notions,” he said, adding that the technology already is quite advanced – and accepted - in countries such as Japan and South Korea. Noting that these cultures differ considerably from that of the United States, Metzler suggested that Christians and members of the other Abrahamic traditions in the U.S. may react quite differently as their awareness of the technology increases.

“People already have been shown to have a disposition to bond with these artifacts and to treat them as if they were people,” he said. “If people begin to bond sufficiently with these robots and treat them as having a moral status, it will introduce some puzzlements.”

Metzler has taught several related courses at Oklahoma City University, including “Artificial Intelligence and Robotics: Implications for Religious Communities,” and hopes to expand curriculum offerings in this area.

“We are really at the cutting edge of human-robot interaction right now,” he said. “It's a growing area of research and interest.”