Robots Can Make Humans Lazier, Cause Unintentional Carelessness [Study]

Humans tend to be more relaxed and less careful when they work alongside robots because, at the back of their minds, the responsibility is not solely theirs.

How Robots Affect Humans' Productivity and Quality of Work?

More and more companies have employed robots in their workforce. However, while adding technology is deemed a good thing to increase productivity, a study seems to suggest otherwise in some instances.

A new study involved 42 volunteers tasked to identify circuit board image errors. However, the scientists divided them into two groups. One group was told a Panda robot already screened their board.

The two groups worked on the job for about the same time. However, the Panda group found fewer flaws and committed more mistakes.

The control group discovered an average of 4.2 defects, whereas the robot-checked group discovered an average of 3.3. The researchers concluded that the latter group did not put as much effort into double-checking their work since they were told a robot had already screened it.

The human participants may engage in robot-like social loafing. The lower effort level is appropriate in a lab environment but not when safety is required.

"In longer shifts, when tasks are routine, and the working environment offers little performance monitoring and feedback, the loss of motivation tends to be much greater," said lead author Llinda Omnasch. "In manufacturing in general, but especially in safety-related areas where double checking is common, this can have a negative impact on work outcomes."

Additionally, the participants were reportedly asked to rate their performance, and they all thought they paid the same amount of attention. However, Onnasch and her colleagues felt that the Panda group subconsciously assumed the robot had already picked up some defects, so they reported less.

"It is easy to track where a person is looking, but much harder to tell whether that visual information is being sufficiently processed at a mental level," Onnasch added.

What Is Social Loafing?

The researchers learned that people focus less on duties while working with robots. This phenomenon is called "social loafing," in which team members put in less effort if they believe someone else will do it for them.

In this scenario, the members consider robots part of the team, according to researchers at the Technical University of Berlin. So, they tend to be more laid back when they believe a colleague or the technology is performing exceptionally well or their contribution would not be valued.

Dietlind Helene Cymek, the study's first author, stated that teamwork has advantages and disadvantages. While it can inspire high performance, it can also cause people to lose motivation as their unique contributions become less apparent. Their curiosity stemmed from the possibility of detecting similar motivating effects in situations where the team member is a robot.

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