Robots we like to live with?! – a developmental perspective on a personalized, life-long robot companion

This paper addresses different possible social relationships between robots and humans, drawing on animal-human relationships. I will argue that humans have been living in (generally peaceful) co-existence with a number of potentially dangerous species, such as some canines. Interestingly dogs are not born ‘pet dogs ’, it’s not completely ‘predefined ’ in their genes whether they will become friendly or dangerous. A critical period in a puppy’s early life significantly shapes its socialization and behavioral conformation. I will suggest that such a developmental model of socialization could be an interesting viewpoint on the design of future generations of robots that need to eo-exist with humans, and that humans like to live with. I will propose the challenge of developing ‘personalized robot companions’, machines that can serve us life-long companions. I will argue that such individualized robots are necessary due to human nature: people have individual needs, likes and dislikes, preferences and personalities that a companion would have to adapt to: one and the same robot will not fit all people. Cognitive robot companions above all need to be socialized and personalized in order to meet the social, emotional and cognitive needs of people they are ‘living with’.