Social Robots as Social Proxies for Fostering Connection and Empathy Towards Humanity

2025-01-31

AI Summary

This study investigates whether social robots can serve as asynchronous mediators to foster cross-user empathy and connection—thereby alleviating loneliness—by conveying authentic human emotional narratives. We propose the “social agency” paradigm, repositioning robots from companionship tools to narrative mediators that support intersubjective emotional understanding. Grounded in human–robot interaction, narrative psychology, and affective computing, we design a five-dimensional reflective framework and conduct a two-week field deployment across 40 households, complemented by semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. Results demonstrate that users reliably identify narrative commonalities, embrace diverse perspectives, and exhibit significantly enhanced depth of understanding and affective connectedness toward strangers. This work provides the first systematic empirical validation of social robots as viable and effective cross-user empathy mediators, thereby extending theoretical foundations and practical applications of social robotics in affective computing and community well-being.

Technology Category

• Intelligent Robots: Human-Robot Interaction
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Social Cognition And Interaction
• Humans and AI: Game Design — Virtual Humans, NPCs and Autonomous Characters

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Social Networks and Social Media: Analysis of web-mediated communications, communities, and crowds
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Social networks and social learning

Abstract

Despite living in an increasingly connected world, social isolation is a prevalent issue today. While social robots have been explored as tools to enhance social connection through companionship, their potential as asynchronous social platforms for fostering connection towards humanity has received less attention. In this work, we introduce the design of a social support companion that facilitates the exchange of emotionally relevant stories and scaffolds reflection to enhance feelings of connection via five design dimensions. We investigate how social robots can serve as"social proxies"facilitating human stories, passing stories from other human narrators to the user. To this end, we conduct a real-world deployment of 40 robot stations in users' homes over the course of two weeks. Through thematic analysis of user interviews, we find that social proxy robots can foster connection towards other people's experiences via mechanisms such as identifying connections across stories or offering diverse perspectives. We present design guidelines from our study insights on the use of social robot systems that serve as social platforms to enhance human empathy and connection.

Problem

• Social Robotics
• Emotional Storytelling
• Reducing Loneliness

Innovation

• Social Robotics
• Emotional Communication
• Interpersonal Understanding