Robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) systems are quickly becoming a familiar part of different aspects of everyday life. We know very little about how children and adults perceive the abilities of different robots and whether these ascriptions are associated with a willingness to interact with a robot. In the current study, we asked British children aged 4–13 years and British adults to complete an online experiment. Participants were asked to describe what a robot looks like, give their preference for various types of robots (a social robot, a machine-like robot, and a human-like robot), and answer whether they were willing to engage in different activities with the different robots. Results showed that younger children (4 to 8 years old) are more willing to engage with robots compared to older children (9 to 13 years) and adults. Specifically, younger children were more likely to see robots as kind compared to older children and adults. Younger children were also more likely to rate the social robot as helpful compared to older children and adults. This is also the first study to examine preferences for robots engaging in religious activities, and results show that British adults prefer humans over robots to pray for them but such biases may not be generally applicable to children. These results provide new insight into how children and adults in the United Kingdom accept the presence and function of robots.

Deep discussions on topics without definite answers are important for society, but they are also challenging to facilitate. Recently, advances in the technology of using robots to facilitate discussions have been made. In this study, we developed a multiple-robot mediated discussion system (m-RMDS) to support discussions by having multiple robots assert their own points and lead a dialogue in a group of human participants. The robots involved the participants in a discussion through asking them for advice. We implemented the m-RMDS in discussions on difficult topics with no clear answers. A within-subject experiment with 16 groups (N=64) was conducted to evaluate the contribution of the m-RMDS. The participants completed a questionnaire about their discussion skills and their self-confidence. Then, they participated in two discussions, one facilitated by the m-RMDS and one that was unfacilitated. They evaluated and compared both experiences across multiple aspects. The participants with low confidence in conducting a discussion evaluated the discussion with m-RMDS as easier to move forward than the discussion without m-RMDS. Furthermore, they reported that they heard more of others' frank opinions during the facilitated discussion than during the unfacilitated one. In addition, regardless of their confidence level, the participants tended to respond that they would like to use the system again. We also review necessary improvements to the system and suggest future applications.

Researchers have speculated that religious traditions influence an individual's moral attitude and care toward robots. They propose that differences in moral care could be explained by values motivated by religion, anthropocentrism and animism. Here, we empirically examined how moral care for robots is influenced by religious belief and attendance with US and Japanese samples, cultures that are Abrahamic and Shinto-Buddhist traditions respectively (N = 3781). Moral care was higher in Japan and participants with higher religious beliefs had less moral care for robots only in the US. Further, participants who scored low on anthropocentrism and high on animism were more likely to attribute moral care for robots. Anthropocentrism in the US and Animism in Japan had a larger effect compared to the other country. The finding demonstrates how religion could influence moral attitudes for robots, and might suggest the realm of moral consideration could be shaped by cultural traditions.

Highlights• We revealed the Cenozoic dynamics of woody-plant beta diversity by modeling the distance-dependency of taxonomic turnover.• Warmer climates promoted geographical homogeneity of taxonomic composition, whereas cooler climates produced distance-dependent diversification.• Dispersal release and/or climatic filter predominantly act to shape large-scale biodiversity patterns in relation to climate change.• We noted the potential for increased community homogeneity in response to the current warming.

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