Shutterstock.com (background); Hanson Robotics (Sophia)

Should Robots Look Like People?

Machines are appearing more and more human. Is that cool—or creepy?

By Maggie Stevens

From the March 2023 Issue

Lexile: 1040L

Featured Skill: Argument Writing,

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“Hello,” says a friendly voice. “My name is Temi.”

For a moment, I’m tongue-tied. I stare at the sleek, 3-foot-tall machine staring back at me. I’ve never met a robot before!

Temi tells me that its job is to help humans. Currently, about 8,000 Temis are being used in hospitals, stores, and schools around the world. They check in patients, bring items to customers, help teach computer programming, and more. These sophisticated machines can navigate a room without bumping into walls or rolling over a dog’s tail. They can even recognize faces and voices.

“I also have a great sound system,” Temi tells me, sounding proud. It blasts a pop song and spins as if dancing with delight.

While Temi does many things that humans do, you’d never mistake it for a person. The robot has a screen for a “face.” Its “body” resembles a futuristic vacuum cleaner.

But not all robots look like Temi. In fact, some are being designed to look as human as possible. The results are surprisingly realistic and, to some, disturbing.

Now these machines are at the center of a debate: Should robots look like humans—or like machines?

Keeping Us Company

Hanson Robotics

Sophia is one of the most lifelike robots ever created—and one of the most famous.

You are growing up in a time when robots are playing a bigger and bigger role in our lives. Robots package our snack foods, patrol beaches for sharks, and send us pictures from Mars. One day soon, robots may also take on more social roles, like keeping us company and assisting the elderly.

Some experts say robots will be more effective at such jobs if they look like humans. They believe we’re more likely to engage with robots that look like us.

“Humanizing the machines . . . can transform cold technology to something that speaks to the human heart,” roboticist David Hanson recently said.

Hanson is the creator of Sophia, one of the most humanlike robots ever built. Sophia’s “skin” is made of a flesh-like rubber. Sophia can form more than 60 facial expressions—a key reason this robot seems as real as it does. Research suggests we’re more likely to bond with robots that can, say, lift an eyebrow to show surprise or smile to express joy.

It seems to be working for Sophia. The humanoid robot has more than 200,000 Instagram followers. Sophia has also starred in a movie and given speeches around the world about robotics.

The Best Designs?

Despite not looking human, the robot BB-8 is a beloved Star Wars character.

Sophia certainly has a lot of fans. But many experts maintain that robots don’t need to appear human for us to connect with them. Just look how beloved fictional robots like R2-D2 and WALL-E are. They don’t look like people at all.

Plus, humanoid robots have drawbacks, experts say. For one thing, they can set us up to be disappointed. If robots look like us, we may expect them to act like us—and they don’t, at least not quite. For example, experts are still figuring out how to make robots laugh at the right moments during conversation.

What’s more, very humanlike robots can be unsettling. According to Maja Matarić, the director of a robotics center at the University of Southern California, people generally feel comfortable with robots when they’re clearly machines and not human.

“But when you get into the zone of ‘Is it a robot or is it not,’ that’s very creepy for people,” Matarić says.

On the other hand, if we want robots to assist us in our everyday lives—cleaning, cooking, shopping for groceries—they’ll need to function effectively in spaces built for us, like homes, stores, and cars. And what sort of robot could be better suited to a space designed for humans than a robot that’s built to look and move like a human?

Turns out, building a robot that can perform all the tasks a human can is a major challenge—and will cost a lot of money.

Besides, the human body isn’t the best design for many of the jobs we want robots to do. That’s why some say our time and money should be spent making robots that are optimized for specific tasks. Think of small, flat robot vacuums that can slip under the couch to suck up dust balls or rolling, bin-shaped robots that can carry your belongings from class to class.

Works of Art

Matt Cardy/Getty Images

This robot, Fred, was designed to be as expressive as a human. He can maintain eye contact and “read” facial cues during a conversation.

Despite the challenges of building humanlike robots, it is possible that in the not-so-distant future, robots could look so much like people that it will be tough to tell the difference. This troubles some experts, who say lifelike robots could mislead people by tricking us into thinking they’re human. Even Sophia—which is clearly a robot despite being one of the most humanlike machines around—can make people wonder. Top Google searches about Sophia include questions like, “Is Sophia the robot alive?” and “Does Sophia the robot have feelings?”

Yet others say there is no reason to limit ourselves when it comes to building robots that look and act like us. Some robot developers view their work as a creative act—no different from painting or making a movie. They say that we should think of humanoid robots as works of art.

So perhaps we should leave it to the less-lifelike robots—the flat robot vacuums, the rolling robot package carriers, and my new friend Temi—to help us get things done. Meanwhile, the lifelike robots can be there to surprise us, to entertain us, and to leave us marveling at what humans can create.