Investigating the impact of safety, cultural and character traits issues in the adoption of humanized robots in education

Abstract

The recent integration of humanized robots in education has a transformative potential, but identifying and addressing education and human-centric challenges is necessary for their adoption. This research investigates the relationships of safety issues, cultural issues and character traits concerns the humanized-robots with the adoption in learning environments. The theoretical foundation of the study is based on the Human-Robot Interaction Theory, Social Cognitive Theory and Diffusion of Innovation Theory, which provide insights and understanding regarding the relationships among variables for the adoption of humanized robots in education. The research employs quantitative methodology, where the data was collected through questionnaire surveys from 620 respondents in Pakistan and China and analyzed through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling. The results reveal that safety issues, character traits and cultural issues have significant relationships with the adoption of humanized-robots in educational settings. The findings offer novel understandings regarding the complex relationships of character, safety and cultural dimensions with humanized-robots adoption unlike the previous studies that focused on usefulness, ease of use, feasibility, outcomes etc. The study integrates the above-mentioned theories in a single framework and extends the understandings regarding technology adoption by incorporating safety, character traits and culture. Furthermore, it also underscores the significance and need of safety, positive character traits and cultural sensitivities for the development and broader acceptance of such technologies. The results provide valuable insights for developers, policymakers and educational institutions for designing culturally adaptive humanized robots, ensuring safety and extensive character traits training for reducing adoption challenges.