Children are susceptible to peer pressure from robots

<em>A Nao robot, the same type used in the experiments.</em>

"If your friends told you to jump off a bridge, would you?"

It's a warning you probably heard in childhood, a hypothetical example of the dangers of groupthink. And it likely inspired more impulsive behavior than it prevented. But in the not-too-distant future, parents may have to update this little adage:

"If a robot told you to jump off a bridge, would you?"

Because, as it turns out, quite a few probably would.

In a study published today in the journal Science Robotics, researchers from Germany and the UK demonstrated that children are susceptible to peer pressure from robots. The findings, say the researchers, show that, as robots and AIs become integrated into social spaces, we need to be careful about the influence they wield,...

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