Making the Team: A Guide for Managers, Fifth Edition

Chapter 13 Teaming Across Distance and Culture

There are over 1100 different models of social robots worldwide. One robot’s name is Bandit, who smiles incessantly with a cheerful grin. Bandit interacts with stroke victims in a rehabilitation center in California. University of Southern California researcher Eric Wade designed Bandit (and several other robots). But, he did not realize how attached people would become to the robots. People kiss them, confide in them, and give them gifts. And when a robot breaks or a research study concludes, people report being heartbroken. Even though people know robots are not human, they report decreases in loneliness and a strengthening of ties to real people the more they interact with robots. It’s not ...