How automation level influences moral decisions of humans collaborating with industrial robots in different scenarios

• Published in: Frontiers in psychology Vol. 14; p. 1107306
• Main Authors: Eich, Anne, Klichowicz, Anja, Bocklisch, Franziska
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 09.03.2023
• Subjects: decision-making; human-machine-teaming; human-robot-collaboration; level of automation; moral dilemma; Psychology; level of automation; moral dilemma; decision-making; human-robot-collaboration; human-machine-teaming
• ISSN: 1664-1078; 1664-1078
• DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1107306

Digitalization in intelligent manufacturing leads to the development of Industry 4.0/5.0 and human-cyber-physical systems. As many production technologies rely on teaming of human workers and intelligent cyber-physical systems such as industrial robots, human-robot collaboration is an intensively investigated topic in this transdisciplinary research area. To design industrial robots in a human-centered way, psychological knowledge concerning judgment and decision-making needs to be gained and integrated. This paper reports results from an experimental study ( 222, 2 × 4 within-subjects design) using eight moral dilemmas framed in the context of human-robot-collaboration to examine the influence of spatial distance of an industrial robot and humans (no direct contact, different tasks vs. no direct contact, same task vs. handing-over contact, same task vs. direct contact, same task) on moral decisions. Additionally, the type of dilemma was varied, with every four dilemmas depicting a life-or-death and an injury scenario. Participants responded on a four-point-response scale which actions they would take indicating deontological or utilitarian moral decision-making. Results show a large effect of the proximity of the cooperation between robots and humans. The closer the collaboration the more a human tends to choose utilitarian moral choices. It is argued that this effect might stem from an adaptation of human rationality to the robot or overreliance and shift of responsibility to the robot team partner.