CHAPTER 4

Acceptable Robot Roles: At Home, in the Community, at the Store

Chapter Overview

We begin this chapter with a review of when the experts believe robots will surpass humans on a variety of tasks. While there is significant disagreement among the experts, the general tendency is to believe robots will surpass humans on all tasks in roughly 45 years! We then explore public acceptance of robots performing a wide variety of tasks in the home, hotels, restaurants, stores, schools, and in the general community. Our survey results show that the majority of Americans are clear on what they will support robots doing over the next two decades (particularly low level support tasks and menial chores) and what they will not support robots doing (tasks involving the supervision of children, life and death decisions, or roles of authority). In each area we discuss what robots are currently doing and cases where there has been commercial success (such as most iRobot vacuums for help with household chores) and commercial failures, (such as Jibo) and where companies have, after some faltering, learned to find the right balance of robot incorporation (such as Japan’s Hotel Henn-na). We also explore how younger Americans and those paying more attention to recent robot advancements are more supportive of robots taking on a wider variety of tasks in the near future versus their older or less informed counterparts.

The Expert View: When Will Robots Surpass Human Capabilities?

What roles will we humans ask robots to play in society? As the opening quote from Professor Vardi demonstrates, many experts in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence believe robots will at some point be able to do almost everything better than humans. Should we move towards a world in which robots are doing pretty much all of society’s tasks, freeing up humans to do other things with their time? Or, even if robots are capable of doing more and more tasks for us, should we place limits on what we have them do? What roles will average consumers accept robots taking on?

We devoted one of our national surveys, involving 370 adult Americans, to this question. In the study, we asked respondents if they would trust robots taking on a variety of roles in the next 10 to 20 years. We emphasized we were not asking about roles robots could assume in the present day, but rather looking ahead to the next decade or two, given the expected advancements in robotics. We organized the tasks into the following settings: at home, at a hotel, at a restaurant, in a school, in a store, and in the community. We deal with health care settings separately in the next chapter.

Before we explore consumer trust in robots performing various tasks over the next two decades, it is helpful to ground ourselves in the timeline offered by experts regarding when we can expect robots to equal or surpass humans in their ability to perform certain functions. In 2016, Dr. Katja Grace of Oxford University and her research team conducted a survey of 352 experts in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). The survey asked these experts to offer their best estimate for when they believed AI would equal or surpass human capabilities on a variety of tasks.

The results show a fair amount of disagreement among the experts, with predictions varying significantly. However, by looking at the median responses we can get a generalized estimate of what these experts expect for the future. Interestingly, on average these experts believe artificial intelligence (which is the driving force behind the capabilities of advanced robots) will equal or surpass humans on many tasks before 2030—less than 10 years away. And, on average, these experts believe artificially intelligent devices will equal or surpass humans on all tasks by 2064 (see Table 4.1). Let that sink in a bit. These experts predict that within the lifetimes of many people reading this book, and certainly of their children, artificially intelligent robots will be equal or better than humans at everything! What will be the role of humans in this type of future?

Table 4.1 When experts predict AI will equal or surpass humans on the following tasks

	Expected year
Fold laundry	2022
Assemble any Lego® model	2024
Read text aloud	2025
Write a high school level essay from scratch	2025
Write and sing a top 40 pop song from scratch	2028
Drive a truck	2028
Run a 5k race	2029
Play Go	2029
Be a retail salesperson	2030
Write a best-selling novel (from scratch)	2053
Be a surgeon	2053
Can accomplish every task better and more cheaply than humans	2064

Source: 352 experts in the field of artificial intelligence (Grace et al. 2018).

As stated in the foregoing text, there is a fair amount of variance in the predictions by experts. For instance, regarding when these experts believe AI-driven devices will be better and cheaper than humans in every task, while the median predicted year is 2064, one quarter of the experts in the sample believe it will occur before 2040, while another quarter believe it will not occur until after 2120. This shows there is a high level of uncertainty regarding the timeline of robot and AI development.

We will now turn to the consumer perspective regarding their comfort level with robots assuming a variety of roles in their lives.

The Consumer Perspective

Robots at Home

We asked consumers about 18 different tasks in the home that robots could potentially perform in the next 10 to 20 years. The results showed a wide range of what consumers would trust robots to do for us in our homes, from almost universal acceptance (vacuuming) to almost universal rejection (babysitting).

On the high trust end, consumers are extremely supportive of robots doing our simple household chores over the next 10 to 20 years, such as: vacuum the floors (86 percent would trust a robot to do), snow shovel the driveway (80 percent), mow the lawn (77 percent), make the beds (75 percent), clean the bathrooms (72 percent), and wash and put away the dishes (72 percent). Clearly, the vast majority of Americans would be perfectly comfortable having a robotic maid and a robotic gardener that can do these basic daily maintenance chores around the house and yard. These are subservient roles where it feels safe to place robots, doing our busy work for us and freeing up time in our daily lives. As is a constant theme in our findings, if people perceive robots are in roles that are fully controlled and subservient, they feel much more comfortable. As a respondent said in one of our follow-up in-depth interviews, Sure, that’s what robots should be doing. All those crappy chores that no one wants to do. Like vacuuming. Like cleaning toilets. Another stated, Yes, I’d like to have a robot I could boss around and do all the work around my house. No one else at my house wants to do any chores, that’s for sure.

On the low trust end, consumers express very little trust in robots playing any role in childcare. Only 11 percent would trust a robot (in the next 10 to 20 years) to babysit children under the age of 2, and a similar 11 percent would trust a robot to babysit children aged 3 to 6. Not many more, 17 percent, would trust a robot to babysit a child aged 7 to 10. Follow-up in-depth interviews with consumers informed us that people see babysitting as a job with a high degree of risk, where one mistake could lead to death or injury, and they are not yet ready to give robots such a critical job (interestingly, young teens and tweens are regularly given the job of babysitting).

Consumers do not believe robots in the near future will have the situational awareness or the ability to fully control their actions to assume these sorts of childcare roles. As one study respondent stated, What if the robot holds the child’s arm too tightly? It [robot] could break it right off and not even know it’s doing that. Also, consumers see childcare as a job requiring a degree of humanity, compassion, joy, and even silliness, all qualities where they felt robots would be lacking. Many consumers struggle to see robots having a warm, caregiving personality. As one respondent said, That would be terrible for a small child, to have some cold robot as a caregiver. That’s just not right. It’s not healthy.

Consumers show significantly more receptivity to robots acting as companions to adults living alone. Though still not a majority, 40 percent of consumers would trust a robot in this type of role within the next couple of decades. As stated in the previous chapter, this is seen as a significant need in society. Also, older adults are viewed as able to hold their own with a robot, and the tasks required are perceived to be more suited to a robot. As one respondent stated, I think a robot would be great for an older person living alone. It could keep them company. Talk with them. Maybe read a book to them when their eyesight gets bad. Maybe even go buy them groceries. I would still prefer a dog, myself.

Here’s a finding of interest to auto companies: only 35 percent of adult Americans would trust a robot to drive them around in their cars in the next 10 to 20 years. Follow-up interviews informed us that this is another situation, like childcare, where people see “life and limb” on the line. Speeding along in a vehicle at 60 miles an hour is a dangerous thing, consumers relate, and they are not yet convinced robots will be able to do this with enough precision and consistency to make them feel comfortable. They base this perception on their current experiences with technology. As one consumer told us When they build a computer that never crashes, never ever has any problems, I mean like zero problems, that’s when I’ll get into a car driven by a robot.

Security companies should take note of the following: only 42 percent of Americans would trust a robot to serve as a home security guard over the next 10 to 20 years. As one respondent told us I really don’t want to have armed robots roaming around. That’s like one of these horror Terminator movies. This connects back to the issue of control, and making robots into security guards places them in too powerful and too dominant a role for most consumers to accept.

Table 4.2 provides the complete results for home tasks.

Table 4.2 Trust in robot roles in the home—in the next 10 to 20 years

Task	% Trust robots to do
Vacuum the floors	86
Snow shovel the driveway	80
Mow lawn	77
Make the beds	75
Clean the bathrooms	72
Wash and put away dishes	72
Wash and iron clothes	66
Paint the exterior of the house	62
Serve food	61
Be a butler	56
Plant and maintain garden	55
Cook food	45
Be a security guard	42
Be a companion to an adult living alone	40
Drive you around in your car	35
Babysit children aged 7–10	17
Babysit children aged 2–6	11
Babysit children under the age of 2	11

When we asked adult Americans in another one of our national surveys (sample size = 476) if they would prefer a robot servant or human servant in their homes, roughly half said they would prefer a robot servant, while about one in six would prefer a human servant, with the remaining one-third being not sure. This aligns with our findings that consumers are quite comfortable with robots doing all their mundane household and yard chores for them. See Table 4.3.

Table 4.3 Preference for a robot versus human servant at home

Prefer robot servant	Not sure	Prefer human servant
52%	32%	16%

Why do three times as many consumers prefer a robotic servant over a human servant? Many say they would feel more comfortable having a robot do all their routine chores for them, often involving degrading and tiresome work, versus asking a human to do it. As one consumer stated, I wouldn’t mind telling a robot to scrub all my bathroom floors for me, but I’d feel kinda bad ordering around a person to do all my cleaning.” Others believed robots could work all hours of the day, all days of the week as needed, which would be a nice perk. One respondent stated, “A robot could clean up the house after a party at two in the morning. No complaints. No overtime pay. The small minority who would only consider a human servant were mainly driven by their general distrust of robots. As one respondent told us, I don’t want any robots in my house. Period.

Younger consumers are significantly more open to the idea of personal servant robots than are their older counterparts, with 65 percent of Millennials liking the idea versus 50 percent of Gen Xers and 49 percent of Baby Boomers. See Table 4.4.

Table 4.4 View of personal servant robots by generation

	Like (%)	Dislike (%)	Not sure (%)
Millennials	65	11	24
Gen X	50	12	38
Baby Boomers	49	15	36

Source: OIG (2018a).

As the preceding text and tables show, there is a significant level of support for robot help at home, undertaking basic chores for us. There is far less support for robots playing a role in our workplaces. In one of our national surveys (sample size = 345), 57 percent of adult Americans said they would find robot help with home household chores useful, while far fewer, 37 percent, said they would find robots useful helping out where they work (see Table 4.5). Much of this resistance is due to fears of robots replacing them at work. As one respondent stated, There are definitely things a robot could do where I work one day. Probably do them better than people. But I wouldn’t want that. I don’t want to compete with a robot. The company would love robot workers because they’d never complain.

Table 4.5 Robot utility at home versus at work

	In my household chores (% agree)	In my job (% agree)
I would find robots useful …	57	37

Robots in the Community

We tested 11 possible roles that robots can play in people’s communities over the next 10 to 20 years. Not surprisingly, the role that found the highest level of trust among consumers for robots to undertake in their communities is as sanitation workers. In keeping with the trend in all our research, we find that consumers are most supportive of placing robots in the most subservient of roles, doing our lowest, least-preferable tasks. Of those surveyed, 56 percent said they would support robots as sanitation workers in their communities over the next 10 to 20 years. Next in terms of community roles is the librarian’s role, which is a much more intellectual job, but still a subservient and fairly safe one. Forty-eight percent of adult Americans would trust a robot to serve as a librarian in the next 10 to 20 years.

Potential roles in the community which garnered the lowest levels of trust in robots undertaking are those where robots would be given power and authority. Only 19 percent would trust a robot to serve as mayor in the next 10 to 20 years. This is interesting, given that in the United States, numerous polls show that we have very little faith in our human politicians. Yet, we are not ready to trade in human political leaders for robotic ones. Follow-up interviews suggest consumers do not think that robots, over the next two decades, will have the decision-making capacity, or ethical perspectives, to run our towns. As one said, Mayors have to make a lot of decisions about what’s best for the town. What’s best for the people in the town. Robots can’t do that. For others, it would mean giving too much power and authority to robots, and that was unacceptable. As one respondent said, I don’t want robots to run my town. Next they’ll run the world. Then they’ll get rid of us.

Also, roles that would give robots potentially lethal power, such as serving as a police officer or soldier, garnered little trust (19 percent and 32 percent, respectively). Of these two functions, the role that would place a robot more closely into the community in a potentially lethal role (police officer) garners significantly less trust than the one that places a robot further from the community (soldier). See Table 4.6 for full results regarding community roles for robots.

Table 4.6 Trust in robot roles in the community—in the next 10 to 20 years

Task	% Trust robots to do
Be a sanitation worker	56
Be a librarian	48
Direct traffic in a busy downtown area	42
Be a taxi/Uber driver	41
Be a firefighter	34
Be a news reporter	32
Be a soldier in the army	32
Be a lifeguard at the community pool	22
Be a coach for a youth sports team	22
Be a police officer	19
Be the mayor	19

As shown in the Table 4.6, only about one in three consumers (32 percent) would trust robots to serve as news reporters in their communities over the next two decades. Yet, robots and AI are already playing a growing role in news reporting, and both China and Japan have utilized robotic news anchors on television. See “Robots in the Newsroom” below.

Robots in Hotels

At a hotel, there are several roles that a large majority of consumers are comfortable seeing robots assume. Not surprisingly, these fall into lower level service roles such as carrying luggage (82 percent trust robots to do in the next 10 to 20 years), delivering room service (75 percent), cleaning rooms (68 percent), and serving as a hotel receptionist (63 percent). Consumers are split roughly in half on three of the more social roles, namely, hotel concierge (56 percent trust robots to do in the next 10 to 20 years), bartender (56 percent), and city tour guide (52 percent).

Regarding bartending, we already have on the market the Smartender, an automated bartending system which can pour over 600 drinks that customers select via a touchscreen (Rigie 2018). No human bartender needed. If you desire a bit more interaction, you can visit the Tipsyrobot in Las Vegas, where a robotic bartender in the form of two large mechanical arms mixes drinks upon request. The robot bartender can even perform dance routines in between drinks (www.thetipsyrobot.com). However, according to our surveys many customers may prefer a more human-to-human experience when at a bar. As one respondent in our study told us when informed of automated bars, Really, that’s where the world is going? It’s pretty sad that we will go to a bar, press some buttons, get a drink, then press more buttons for more drinks. God, that’s sad. Regarding a more interactive robot bartender, another respondent stated, I’m sure a robot would know how to make every mixed drink there is. But I wouldn’t want to sit at the bar and talk to a robot. That would be weird. I’d rather sit at a bar and chat with a cute human bartender.

This taps into a wider theme that we heard from many respondents in our research, that it would be “weird” to interact with robots on a social level. The idea of casually chatting with robots is off-putting to many humans. We deal with this issue more in Chapter 7.

Not surprisingly, in terms of hotel roles there is the lowest level of support for robotic security guards (42 percent). Again, this reflects the hesitancy of many people to give robots too much power and authority. See Table 4.7 for full results.

Table 4.7 Trust in robot roles in a hotel—in the next 10 to 20 years

Task	% Trust robots to do
Carry your luggage to your room	82
Deliver your room service food	75
Clean your room	68
Be a hotel receptionist	63
Be a hotel concierge	56
Be a bartender	56
Be a city tour guide	52
Be a security guard	42

Robots in Restaurants

Regarding restaurants, we again find the most support for robots in the lowest service roles. Roughly two-thirds of adult Americans are receptive to the idea of robot busboys over the next couple of decades. Slightly over half, 56 percent, are receptive to robotic waiters and robotic hostesses. Trust in a robotic cook in a restaurant over the next couple of decades is lower, at only 41 percent. Why so much less trust in a robot cook? For many respondents, cooking was seen as requiring critical human traits of creativity and adaptability, which many felt a robot could not master. As one respondent stated, I love to cook. Cooking involves a real, I don’t know, human factor. You have to be creative. Try different spices, different ingredients. The great chefs of the world are, like, artists. I don’t see a robot doing great cooking anytime soon. Maybe it can cook basic meals, like a burger, but not any great cooking.

As has been a constant finding in our research, there is very little support for robots placed in any positions of management or authority. Only 26 percent of adult Americans trust a robot to serve as a restaurant manager in the next couple of decades. See Table 4.8 for full results regarding restaurant roles.

Table 4.8 Trust in robot roles in a restaurant—in the next 10 to 20 years

Task	% Trust robots to do
Be a busboy	64
Be a waiter	56
Be a host/hostess	56
Be a cook	41
Be the restaurant manager	26

As of early 2020, robots working in restaurants are still a tiny niche found mainly in Asian countries, and these restaurants generally function as novelty experiences for tourist and city dwellers (Nguyen 2016). However, over the next decade that may change dramatically. A study cited in Forbes magazine places the automation potential for waiters and waitresses at 77 percent (Rigie 2018). Already, many large chain restaurants across the globe have automated some of the customer experience with the ability to order and pay via tablets that sit on the tables. Yet, human servers still play a key role in bringing the food to the table, checking on the satisfaction of the patrons, and otherwise managing the restaurant floor.

That said, many robotics companies are working hard to change that. For example, a company called Bear Robotics shows on its website the robotic food servers it is developing moving briskly about a crowded restaurant binging food to hungry customers (www.bearrobotics.ai —as of November 22, 2019). The company’s tagline is Reshaping food service with robotics and AI. Financially, restaurants could reap significant financial rewards by employing robots as wait staff and avoiding the hassle involved in hiring and managing these relatively high turnover workers (Rigie 2018). Yet, as we found in our studies, only slightly over half of Americans would trust a robot to perform this function. This consumer resistance could abate if the first generation of robot waiters does a fantastic job delivering the right food to the right table, while still hot and yummy-looking. If not, restaurants must be prepared for consumer pushback.

Robots in Stores

Results for acceptable roles for robots in stores mirrors much of what we see in other areas. Just over three-quarters (76 percent) of adult Americans would trust robots to help them carry their store-bought goods to their cars over the next 10 to 20 years. To keep stores organized, 72 percent would trust robots, while 71 percent would trust robots to help them find items in a store. Just about two-thirds would trust a robot in the next 10 to 20 years to be the store janitor (69 percent) or cashier (65 percent). Slightly over half (57 percent) would trust a robot to serve as a shopping consultant, offering suggestions on what to buy. Far fewer would trust a robot in the next couple of decades to be a store security guard (44 percent) or the store manager (29 percent). See Table 4.9 for full results on store roles.

Table 4.9 Trust in robot roles in a store—in the next 10 to 20 years

Task	% Trust robots to do
Help you carry what you bought to your car	76
Keep the store organized	72
Help you find products you are looking for	71
Be a janitor	69
Be a cashier	65
Provide suggestions on what to buy	57
Be a security guard	44
Be the store manager	29

Mode of product delivery is an important part of today’s shopping experience. Amazon is investing significant time and money researching robotic deliverers. In 2019, Amazon began field testing its delivery robot named Scout, which resembles a large cooler with wheels. These field tests are taking place (as of 2019) in Irvine, CA, with a human accompanying the robot to ensure it delivers the packages to the correct address. The human companion is also there to answer consumers’ questions (Etherington 2019). Amazon’s goal, it is believed, is to eventually turn much of its delivery “final mile” (last mile from main route to the home recipient) over to fully autonomous robots, both robots with wheels (such as Scout) or robots with wings (smart drones). We introduced Amazon’s Scout in Chapter 1.

Half of Americans like the idea of independent delivery robots. The other half are divided between clearly disliking them (28 percent) or not yet sure what to make of the idea (22 percent). Companies such as Amazon have their work cut out for them to win over more consumers before they widely launch their robot deliverers. See Table 4.10.

Table 4.10 Like or dislike the concept of independent delivery robots

Like	Dislike	Not sure
50%	28%	22%

Source: OIG (2018b).

Robots in Schools

Regarding robots in schools, we tested six possible roles. See Table 4.11. Only one role, making and serving lunch, found a majority of adult Americans (albeit only a slight majority at 53 percent) trusting robots to take over this function in the next 10 to 20 years. Only 45 percent of respondents trust robots to serve as teacher’s assistants, while 41 percent trust robots to act as security guards in schools. When it comes to teaching students (as a teacher, not just an assistant), trust in robots to serve in this role over the next 10 to 20 years is below 30 percent (29 percent to 24 percent, depending upon the age of the students). Why would this be, given that computers can serve as almost infinite sources of information? Our follow-up interviews suggest a mix of concerns.

Table 4.11 Trust in robot roles in schools—in the next 10 to 20 years

Task	% Trust robots to do
Make and serve lunch	53
Be a teacher’s assistant	45
Be a security guard	41
Teach classes for high school students	29
Teach college classes	28
Teach classes for elementary school children	24

Regarding teaching younger children, we encountered the same issues we saw with babysitting. There is not yet enough trust in robots to give them responsibility over children. As one respondent told us, I don’t want a robot teaching in elementary school. What if it shuts off and there’s no one to watch the children? What if it malfunctions and attacks the children, even if it doesn’t mean to. Like, if it just starts zooming around the classroom because of a malfunction, not even aware its knocking over the children. Regarding older children, one respondent noted Teaching is not just being smart. A teacher has to connect with the kids. Can a robot do that? I’m not sure it can.

Sex with Robots

We cannot complete a chapter on potential robot roles without discussing the use of robots for sex. Humans having sex with robots has been showcased, or at least implied, in many films, both dramas and comedies, such as Ex Machina (2014), The Stepford Wives (2004), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) and Austin Powers International Man of Mystery (1997); and in TV series, including West World (2016 to present) and Battlestar Galactica (2003 to 2009). In most of these, the robots are portrayed as the females (with major exceptions, such as A.I. Artificial Intelligence), and the sex is presented as fairly enjoyable for the humans.

Already, there is a growing international industry of brothels based completely on hyper-realistic sex dolls (see www.Lumidolls.com). The selling pitch for these advanced sex dolls is that they are made to look like a variety of “fantasy” sex partners, and that those who purchase sessions with these dolls can have any type of sexual fantasy that they would want without having to convince another human to go along. In essence, it gives the human participant complete control.

Adding robotic movements and interactions to these dolls is the next step in this industry, making the fantasy experience even more intense. This step is already well underway. Harmony, a sex robot made by Realbotix, is what you would expect a sex robot to look like. She has a highly attractive face and a voluptuous body. She can look you in the eyes, have a conversation with you, and also function as a sex doll is meant to function. If that is not enough, via an app the user can program different personalities and voices for Harmony, and change her facial features, to create different experiences (Morris 2018). Harmony sounds like something out of WestWorld, but she is available today. And Harmony is just the start of where this industry is expected to take robotics. Companies are continuing to advance technology in this area, making for more and more realistic sexual encounters with robots.

According to a 2017 survey, roughly one in four men and one in ten women admit that they would consider having sex with a robot. See Table 4.12. An additional one in five of each gender says they are “not sure” when asked the question, suggesting a sizable amount can potentially be convinced, given the right circumstances.

Table 4.12 Sex with robots

	Men (%)	Women (%)
Definitely/probably consider	24	9
Definitely/probably NOT consider	58	71
Not sure	18	20

Source: You.gov (2017).

Summing Up: Most and Least Accepted Roles for Robots

Looking across all the roles that we tested in our surveys, a clear pattern emerges. American adults are most supportive of robots taking on clearly subservient service roles, doing our low level grunt work like carrying luggage, shoveling driveways, mowing lawns. American adults are least supportive of robots assuming any roles where they have responsibility over children, or play a law enforcement role, or where life and death may be at stake, or are placed in a leadership position over people. Robot scientists are pushing hard to expand the capabilities of robots. However, consumers are likely to push back just as hard on many of these possibilities. As with many new technologies, we expect acceptance to grow over time. The results from our studies identify the robot applications where initial resistance will be greatest, and where companies will have to work the hardest to build trust. See Table 4.13 for a summary of the most and least trusted roles for robots.

Table 4.13 Most and least trusted roles for robots

Most trusted roles for robots	Least trusted roles for robots
Carry your luggage to your room—at hotel (82%) Snow shovel driveway—at one’s home (80%) Mow the lawn—at one’s home (77%) Help you carry what you bought to your car—at a store (76%) Deliver your room service food—at hotel (75%) Make beds—in one’s home (75%)	Babysit children under age 2—at one’s home (11%) Babysit children aged 3 to 6—at one’s home (11%) Babysit children aged 7 to 10—at one’s home (17%) Be a police officer—in the community (19%) Be the mayor—in the community (19%) Be a lifeguard at the community pool—in the community (22%) Be a coach for a youth sports team—in the community (22%)

Shown in (): Percentage who would trust a robot to do in the next 10 to 20 years.

Differences by Age

Regarding trust in robots assuming various roles in our lives, we see significant differences by age. See Table 4.14. Younger consumers (aged 18 to 34) are much more accepting of robots assuming a variety of roles than are their older (aged 35+) counterparts. This is particularly true of many activities in the community, such as being a police officer, firefighter, taxi driver, directing traffic, or even serving as the mayor. Younger consumers are also more supportive than their older counterparts of robots acting as their at-home servants, including babysitting, cooking, chauffeuring them, and acting as a companion.

Table 4.14 Trust in robot roles—differences by age

	Aged 18 to 34 (%)	Aged 35+ (%)	Difference
Roles at Home: Percentage that trust doing
Be a butler	61	51	+10
Cook food	51	39	+12
Be a companion to an adult living alone	46	33	+13
Drive you around in a car	40	29	+11
Babysit children aged 7–10	24	9	+15
Babysit children aged < 2	15	6	+9
Babysit children aged 2–6	14	7	+7
Roles at Hotel: Percentage that trust doing
Be a security guard	45	38	+7
Roles at Store: Percentage that trust doing
Keep store organized	75	67	+8
Provide suggestions on what to buy	64	51	+13
Be a security guard	51	36	+15
Be the store manager	33	24	+9
Roles at School: Percentage that trust doing
Be a teacher’s assistant	49	41	+8
Be a security guard	47	34	+13
Teach at an elementary school	29	19	+10
Roles at Restaurant: Percentage that trust doing
Be a waiter	60	51	+9
Be a hostess	60	51	+9
Be a cook	45	36	+9
Be a restaurant manager	29	22	+7
Roles in the Community: Percentage that trust doing
Be a librarian	53	43	+10
Direct traffic downtown	50	34	+16
Be a taxi/Uber driver	48	33	+15
Be a fire fighter	41	26	+15
Be a soldier in the army	38	26	+12
Be a news reporter	37	27	+10
Be a coach for a youth sports team	27	16	+11
Be a lifeguard	27	17	+10
Be a police officer	26	11	+15
Be the mayor	26	12	+14

As often happens with technological innovations, it appears the younger members of society will be the first to widely accept robots in a variety of roles. However, although they are more receptive than their older counterparts, the younger generations will still need a fair amount of convincing on many of the roles involving greater robot authority.

Awareness of Current Capabilities Breeds Greater Trust in Robot Roles

In Chapter 2, we reviewed the awareness levels among the adult public regarding current robot capabilities. For the following analysis, we broke the sample into two groups: (a) those who are aware that robots are currently performing that task, and b) those who are not aware that robots are currently performing the task. We did this to see if awareness of current robot capabilities impacted people’s level of trust in robots doing that activity for them.

We found a strong correlation. People who are aware that robots are currently performing a task express significantly more trust in robots doing that task for them than do those not aware of current robot capabilities in that area. We found this result for every task that we included in the awareness study (sample size = 345). Hence, awareness of current robot capabilities appears to breed trust in robots taking on that role in one’s own life. See Table 4.15. Note that the tasks in the awareness study are different than the tasks discussed in this chapter, since many of the tasks discussed earlier in this chapter are not yet currently being done by robots.

Table 4.15 Awareness of current robot capabilities and impact on trust

Task	% Aware robots can currently perform	% Who trust robots doing
		Among those not aware robots are currently doing	Among those aware robots are currently doing
Vacuum	88	65	90
Greet people	81	49	81
Drive vehicles	77	12	37
Sort and deliver packages	75	56	84
Wash floors	68	70	83
Perform music	65	39	69
Win at contests and board games	64	46	82
Help customers find goods they are looking for	63	62	85
Be your pet	61	17	59
Lawn mowing	53	51	82
Wash dishes	50	53	86
Check your bodily vital signs	49	36	54
Companionship—such as playing cards with you or reading books to you	48	35	66
Perform surgery on you	48	4	27
Massage your back	44	34	67
Hospital receptionist—taking your information when you arrive	42	40	79
Analyze the results of your X-rays, CT Scans, MRIs	41	20	46
Paint	38	46	75
Fold and organize clothes	34	58	82
Lift an elderly patient from a bed to a wheelchair	31	26	51
Write music	31	35	64
Iron clothes	30	52	82
Cook a variety of different meals	27	31	68
Draw your blood for testing	17	15	42
Perform your annual check ups	10	13	40

Implications for Consumer Behavior and Marketing Strategy

As we have emphasized throughout the book, for consumers to be supportive and even enthusiastic about the upcoming robot revolution, companies developing robots and those utilizing them in public-facing roles must make smart decisions along the way. A few missteps and public opinion can easily turn against the increasing use of robots in society.

A key part of this process is to understand the optimal roles for robots, particularly in the first decades or two of the robot revolution. Our research provides helpful insights in this regard. Consumers are most supportive of robots taking on clearly subservient service roles, doing the menial chores, grunt work or dangerous/dirty tasks that we humans do not want to do. Consumers are least supportive of robots assuming any roles where they have responsibility over children, or play a law enforcement role, or where life and death is perceived as being at stake, or are placed in a leadership or power position over people. Just because a robot can do something does not mean the public is ready to accept it. Consider a stepwise approach. Start robots in the most acceptable roles and build public confidence. Over time, as confidence builds in these initial roles, robots can be utilized in higher level and take on more advanced tasks. Pay attention to what others are doing in and out of your industry in terms of robot implementation in various roles; learn from their successes and failures. There may be roles for robots that may take many generations before the public will accept; only time will tell.

In addition to a stepwise approach to the roles robots take on, companies should also consider a stepwise approach to the quantity of robots in any consumer-facing positions. For instance, imagine a restaurant patron walking into her favorite restaurant one day and seeing the entire waitstaff replaced by robots. These robots may do a fantastic job in their roles, but the transition would be too sudden for the patron. However, if she walked in one day and saw a couple of support robots working with the team of human waiters, the transition would be much easier to accept.

Be sure to get feedback from customers on their experiences with robots, including the robots you are using for your customer touch points as well as robotic interactions your customers are experiencing in other areas of their lives. This customer research will be essential in helping any company optimize its robot strategy.

If a company is selling robots directly to consumers for home or personal use, keep in mind that no matter how exciting the technology may be to the robot developers, consumers will only spend money in significant amounts to satisfy a real want or need. That want or need may not be initially evident, and marketing may be required to communicate it. But, companies must keep in mind that only a tiny niche of consumers will buy a robot simply because it is the newest and shiniest object on the market. Robots for sale to consumers must deliver against a real consumer want or need in a manner that is perceived to be better than other known alternatives.

As robots are rolled out to take on more and more tasks, continue the public information campaigns to inform consumers of the benefits of the robots to the consumers themselves, so they understand this is not just about the company’s bottom line. And use these same marketing vehicles to inform the public of the broader perspective the company is taking, to ensure the robot revolution is well-thought out and well-managed for the broader societal good.

Finally, as with any smart marketing, consider your target consumer. Younger consumers and those more educated about robot capabilities will be the most receptive to robots in consumer-facing roles. Implement your initial rollouts in more youthful and tech-savvy communities. These consumers will be more accepting of initial stumbles, which must be worked out before implementation in older and more tech-hesitant communities.