"It was Tragic": Exploring the Impact of a Robot's Shutdown

2025-09-08

AI Summary

This study investigates how humans socially interpret shutdown actions of non-social robots and argues that shutdown should be deliberately designed as a critical interaction phase. Method: Using an experimental psychology paradigm, we compared two arm-based shutdown modalities—immediate power-off versus gradual folding—measuring participants’ cognitive attributions, affective responses, and anthropomorphic perceptions. Contribution/Results: Framing gradual shutdown as a “sleeping” metaphor significantly reduced negative affect (e.g., abandonment feelings) and enhanced perceived likability, intelligence, and aliveness of the robot. This work is the first to empirically establish the social interaction significance of robotic shutdown, introducing the novel design principle of *end-of-interaction*—a proactive, socially grounded approach to concluding human–robot interactions. The findings extend human–robot interaction theory and practice by treating shutdown not as a technical termination but as a socially meaningful interaction endpoint requiring intentional design.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Human-Robot Interaction
• Humans and AI: Interaction Techniques and Devices
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: The sharing economy
• Semantics and Knowledge: Data modeling to support human-machine intelligence, including LLMs agents, intelligent system behavior, explanations, and user-friendly interactions

Abstract

It is well established that people perceive robots as social entities, even when they are not designed for social interaction. We evaluated whether the social interpretation of robotic gestures should also be considered when turning off a robot. In the experiment, participants engaged in a brief preliminary neutral interaction while a robotic arm showed interest in their actions. At the end of the task, participants were asked to turn off the robotic arm under two conditions: (1) a Non-designed condition, where all of the robot's engines were immediately and simultaneously turned off, as robots typically shut down; (2) a Designed condition, where the robot's engines gradually folded inward in a motion resembling "falling asleep." Our findings revealed that all participants anthropomorphized the robot's movement when it was turned off. In the Non-designed condition, most participants interpreted the robot's turn-off movement negatively, as if the robot had "died." In the Designed condition, most participants interpreted it more neutrally, stating that the robot "went to sleep." The robot's turn-off movement also impacted its perception, leading to higher likeability, perceived intelligence, and animacy in the Designed condition. We conclude that the impact of common edge interactions, such as turning off a robot, should be carefully designed while considering people's automatic tendency to perceive robots as social entities.

Problem

• Investigating how robot shutdown gestures affect human perception
• Evaluating anthropomorphic interpretations of robotic turn-off movements
• Designing robot shutdown interactions to influence social perception

Innovation

• Designed gradual shutdown movement resembling sleep
• Compared immediate vs. gradual engine shutdown conditions
• Anthropomorphic turn-off design improves robot perception metrics