The Space Between

Nature and Machine Heuristics in Evaluations of Organisms, Cyborgs, and Robots

Bibliographic Data

ID22004355
AuthorsJaime Banks (0000-0002-7598-4337, Texas Tech University, corresponding author), Autumn Edwards (0000-0002-5963-197X, Western Michigan University), Autumn P Edwards (Western Michigan University), David Westerman (0000-0001-9550-0304, North Dakota State University)
Year2021
Volume24
Issue5
Pages324-331
Publication date2021-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2152-2715 • E-ISSN: 2152-2723
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1089/cyber.2020.0165
PMID33416419
OpenAlexW3118531461
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited37

Cues delivered by agents are known to trigger mental shortcuts associated with ontological category or the kind of thing an agent is. Two such heuristics are key to considering organic and machine agents, and result in biased evaluations: the machine heuristic (MH) (if machine, then systematic/unbiased, therefore its products are good) and the nature heuristic (NH) (if natural, then pure/innate, therefore good). As machine agents such as robots are increasingly integrated into human spheres, it is yet unknown (a) if invocation of agent-cued heuristics is inherently tied to activities and (b) whether either/both heuristics are evoked when agents exhibit both organic and machinic properties (as with cyborgs). To investigate these open questions, a 3 × 2 experiment tasked individuals with considering a magazine article about an agent (organism, cyborg, robot) performing behaviors (natural, technical) to solve a widespread problem, and then evaluating the agent and its solution for markers of machine and NHs. Findings indicate that the NH may be dominant over the MH; however, this primacy may be driven by operational contexts. Post hoc analysis suggests that agent category grounds interpretations of agent behaviors that, in turn, drive biased evaluations of behavioral outcomes

Cognitive science · Computer security · Heuristic · Heuristics · Human–computer interaction · Robot · Computer Science · Ethics and Social Impacts of AI · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Artificial Intelligence