Public Evaluation on Potential Social Impacts of Fully Autonomous Cybernetic Avatars for Physical Support in Daily-Life Environments: Large-Scale Demonstration and Survey at Avatar Land

TL;DR

This study assesses public perception of fully autonomous cybernetic avatars (CAs) for daily support through a large-scale demonstration and survey, revealing interest and concerns about reliability, with implications for societal integration.

Contribution

It provides empirical data from a large public demonstration and survey on social impacts and perceptions of fully autonomous CAs in real-world environments.

Findings

Interest in CAs for daily and work support

Concerns about task execution reliability

Cost and human-like interaction are less concerning

Abstract

Cybernetic avatars (CAs) are key components of an avatar-symbiotic society, enabling individuals to overcome physical limitations through virtual agents and robotic assistants. While semi-autonomous CAs intermittently require human teleoperation and supervision, the deployment of fully autonomous CAs remains a challenge. This study evaluates public perception and potential social impacts of fully autonomous CAs for physical support in daily life. To this end, we conducted a large-scale demonstration and survey during Avatar Land, a 19-day public event in Osaka, Japan, where fully autonomous robotic CAs, alongside semi-autonomous CAs, performed daily object retrieval tasks. Specifically, we analyzed responses from 2,285 visitors who engaged with various CAs, including a subset of 333 participants who interacted with fully autonomous CAs and shared their perceptions and concerns through a survey questionnaire. The survey results indicate interest in CAs for physical support in daily life and at work. However, concerns were raised regarding task execution reliability. In contrast, cost and human-like interaction were not dominant concerns. Project page: https://lotfielhafi.github.io/FACA-Survey/.