HRI: l’interazione tra esseri umani e macchine. Dall’interazione sociale all’interazione sociotecnica

Interaction is a foundation of sociology, the complexity of which has produced over time numerous theoretical approaches and methods to define and analyze this concept. It is a process of varying duration between two or more actors who direct their actions by influencing the motivations and performance of these actions, producing reciprocal effects. The present research work analyzes a particular form of interaction, that between humans and machines: Human-Robot-Interaction (HRI). The interdisciplinary character of the relationship between humans and machines and its relationship with many sociological concepts is evident from the name itself: Human-Robot Interaction, a union of technological aspects concerning the robot, an artifact produced by human ingenuity, and human aspects related to social interaction. Science fiction has always been attracted by robots, often placed in a dystopian future in which they determine the increase of unemployment or reduce human beings to slavery. Robotics, more than other emerging technologies, stimulates symbolic imagery because of its form, the body of the robot that moves through space interacting with humans. The shift from recognizable machines to anthropomorphic robots amplifies these aspects, generating in people contradictory attitudes of enthusiasm and fear at the same time. During the last decade, the pervasiveness of these artifacts and their increasing diffusion in human environments and daily routines have increasingly motivated researchers to study the impact, perception, acceptability and acceptance of robotics. The analyses conducted aim to give a contribution in this sense also through an articulated survey work. The robot, as a social agent and actor, activates in the interaction with humans a complex system of symbols and categories. Science has opened new scenarios to describe the way in which human beings learn, as well as robots; the haptic dimension and the importance of touch as a primary sense put at the center, before others, the dimension of the body, the embodiment. The dimension of corporeality assumes considerable importance; two orientations emerge: the recognition of the robot in its machine form, on the one hand, and in its aspect more similar to a human being, on the other. The analyses conducted show that the interaction between humans and robots is a very complex phenomenon that activates social processes capable of influencing the representation of robots and the degree of acceptability. The resluts confirm that the word robot recalls a complex, multidimensional structure and determines a range of polysemic meanings belonging to different domains. The process of socialization with the robot, overall and in every single phase, appears to be influenced by symbolic systems, values, representations, mechanisms of memory and mind functioning and cognitive biases. Attitudes toward robotics are multifaceted and have a high level of interconnectedness. Like many new phenomena, socialization with robots will require a process of socialization and integration, the outcomes of which are not at all obvious at the moment. Perhaps, after a period of transition, the integration of robots into society will become a fact. This also seems to depend on the ability of research to reduce the divide between disciplines in order to open up to fully consider the ethical and social aspects underlying robotics.