Judgment of the Humanness of an Interlocutor Is in the Eye of the Beholder
2011

Judgment of Humanness in Computer-Mediated Communication

Sample size: 9 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Lortie Catherine L., Guitton Matthieu J.

Primary Institution: Centre de Recherche Université Laval Robert-Giffard

Hypothesis

Can the linguistic behavior of humans perceived as non-human help identify core parameters involved in the judgment of an agent's humanness?

Conclusion

The judgment of an interlocutor's humanness depends not only on their behavior but also on the judge's perceptions.

Supporting Evidence

  • Subjects judged as robots used fewer words per post than those judged as humans.
  • Judges asked more questions when they perceived their interlocutor as human.
  • Indicators of interest displayed by judges were predictive of the final judgment of humanness.

Takeaway

People can sometimes think a human is a robot based on how they talk, and this study looked at why that happens.

Methodology

The study analyzed dialogues from the Loebner Prize in Artificial Intelligence, focusing on linguistic behavior of humans judged as robots.

Potential Biases

The study may be influenced by the judges' biases in interpreting linguistic cues.

Limitations

Demographic information of participants was not available, limiting analysis of potential influences on humanness perception.

Statistical Information

P-Value

p<0.05

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1371/journal.pone.0025085

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