“Wow, You’re Really the Champion of the ‘Resting Competition’, Huh?!”: Robot Knows How to Use Irony Effectively

摘要

Irony can have remarkable positive effects on human behavior. However, those effects depend on the appropriate use of irony. Existing theoretical frameworks in psychology and sociology discuss the use of irony, including its effects on emotional states and behaviors. However, these frameworks often rely on subjective intuition, rendering them impractical for robotic systems. Additionally, our investigation of prior research in human-robot interaction (HRI) reveals a lack of systematic, context-sensitive frameworks for irony usage. This gap limits the ability of robots to dynamically evaluate the effectiveness of irony and adapt its use based on user states and interaction contexts. This study introduces a novel operational framework for irony usage in HRI, addressing these gaps through dynamic, real-time guidelines that enable robots to effectively and adaptively deploy irony. Given the lack of direct support from existing theoretical frameworks, our research adopts an exploratory approach. Specifically, we conducted semi-structured interviews to investigate successful irony in interpersonal interactions that can positively impact humans, evaluating it from the perspective of those who received irony. In the investigation, 25 irony receivers were interviewed, and the essential factors in successful irony usage were extracted from those interviews. The interview results indicated that successful irony is typically used when the receiver is in an inefficient state but in a good mood and energetic. Based on these findings, guidelines for the successful use of irony by a robotic system were established. In the proposed system, the robot acts as an exercise partner, encouraging users to adhere to their ideal plans. The robot uses irony on users when they do not make sufficient efforts, but only if they are in a good mental state and energetic. In an experiment involving 22 participants, the proposed system outperformed a baseline system, where the robot used irony whenever participants exhibited inefficiency. Participants using the proposed system exercised for 59 minutes on average, compared to 48 minutes with the baseline system. Moreover, they felt that the robot with the proposed robot-behavior model better understood their states, and they also felt more enjoyment.