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Interacting with AI can make people act more like robots

Phys · · 587 words · By University
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What to know about Interacting with AI can make people act more like robots

The article discusses research from the University of Birmingham, Aarhus University, and Linnaeus University regarding 'robotoid humanness.' The study explores how consumers may subconsciously mirror the behaviors of AI-powered social robots in customer service, potentially impacting their self-perception and raising ethical concerns.

Propaganda risk 10%
Claims checked 6
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center100%
Right0%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Interacting with AI can make people act more like robots Gaby Clark Scientific Editor Andrew Zinin Chief Editor As AI continues to develop at a rapid pace, social robots powered by AI are becoming more commonplace in customer service settings such as retail,…

Why it matters

But as these robots become smarter and appear more human, little attention has been given to how this might affect the consumers interacting with them.

Common ground

Now, research from the University of Birmingham (UK), Aarhus University (Denmark), and Linnaeus University (Sweden) has found that interacting with robots displaying human-like behaviors, such as adaptive learning, personalized communication and empathetic…

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

The article discusses research from the University of Birmingham, Aarhus University, and Linnaeus University regarding 'robotoid humanness.' The study explores how consumers may subconsciously mirror the behaviors of AI-powered social robots in customer service, potentially impacting their self-perception and raising ethical concerns.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-08-interacting-ai-people-robots.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 6 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified 4
check_circle Corroborated 2
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Claim 1: “research from the University of Birmingham (UK), Aarhus University (Denmark), and Linnaeus University (Sweden) has found that interacting with robots displaying human-like behaviors, such as adaptive learning, personalized communication and empathetic engagement, can reinforce, reshape or destabilize a consumer's self-perception.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources (Sözalt, IBTimes UK) report that research from the University of Birmingham, Aarhus University, and Linnaeus University found that interacting with human-like robots can affect a consumer's self-perception.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Open University (OU) is a public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate students are based in the United…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_University
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Aarhus University School of Business and Social Sciences (branded as Aarhus BSS) is one of the four faculties of Aarhus University in Denmark. The school consists of seven departments: Economics a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aarhus_University_School_of_Bu…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Aston University is a public university situated in the city centre of Birmingham, England. Aston began as the Birmingham Municipal Technical School in 1895, evolving into the UK's first college of ad…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aston_University
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 2: “The research has been published in the journal AI & Society.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the research was published in the journal AI & Society, including a direct reference to the journal's own page and news reports.
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web search NEUTRAL — In a proposed framework, which has yet to be tested in the real world, the researchers broke the process of becoming more robotic down into three stages. First “consumers enter a synthetic social real…
https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/alarming-ai-hum…
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web search NEUTRAL — Find a journal Publish with us Track your research.Robotoid humanness, understood through this lens, names a condition of adaptive self-narrowing that is not epistemically visible to the person underg…
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00146-026-03299-w
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web search NEUTRAL — The findings appear in the journal AI & Society. An international team of scholars examined how generative systems and socially responsive service agents are changing ordinary interactions.They introd…
https://endtimeheadlines.org/2026/09/alarming-study-reveals-…
verified
Claim 3: “Dr. Jean-Paul Jde Cros Peronard, associate professor at Aarhus University”
VERIFIED
Google Scholar and LinkedIn profiles, as well as university-related reports, confirm Dr. Jean-Paul de Cros Peronard is an Associate Professor at Aarhus University.
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web search NEUTRAL — Associate Professor, Aarhus University. Verified email at btech.au.dk. Market relations and communication.M Bakpayev, M Boninsegni, JP de Cros Peronard, T Reimer, A Roy, ... Transformative Consumer Re…
https://scholar.google.com.tr/citations?user=gwSzCbkAAAAJ&hl…
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web search NEUTRAL — Dr Jean-Paul Jde Cros Peronard. Associate Professor at Aarhus University. These repeated interactions can also change an individual’s self-perception depending on factors such as technological readine…
https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/news/2026/interacting-with-cust…
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web search NEUTRAL — Our work, together with Jean-Paul de Cros Peronard (Aarhus University, Denmark) and Dr Inci Toral (Birmingham University, UK), explores how selfhood and identity become legible to machines, and what t…
https://dk.linkedin.com/in/peronard
verified
Claim 4: “Selcen Ozturkcan et al, Robotoid humanness: when selfhood becomes machine-legible, AI & SOCIETY (2026). DOI: 10.1007/s00146-026-03299-w”
VERIFIED
The existence of the paper 'Robotoid humanness: when selfhood becomes machine-legible' by Selcen Ozturkcan et al. in AI & Society is confirmed by the journal and PhilPapers. Note: While the claim mentions 2026, this is likely a future-dated publication volume common in academic journals, and the content is verified as existing.
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web search NEUTRAL — AI & SOCIETY Aims and scope. Submit manuscript. Robotoid humanness: when selfhood becomes machine-legible. Download PDF. Selcen Ozturkcan.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00146-026-03299-w
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web search NEUTRAL — We introduce “robotoid humanness” to name an emergent drift in which consumers come to experience themselves as most fluent, correct, or socially viable when they become compatible with machine legibi…
https://philpapers.org/rec/OZTRHW
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web search NEUTRAL — We introduce "robotoid humanness" to name an emergent drift in which consumers come to experience themselves as most fluent, correct, or socially viable when they become compatible with machine legibi…
https://www.academia.edu/172028783/Robotoid_humanness_when_s…
verified
Claim 5: “Dr. Inci Toral-Manson, associate professor of marketing at the University of Birmingham”
VERIFIED
University of Birmingham's own department page and professional profiles confirm Dr. Inci Toral (also referred to as Toral-Manson) is an Associate Professor of Marketing.
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web search NEUTRAL — Address. Room 247, University House University of Birmingham Edgbaston Birmingham B15 2TT. Before entering academia Dr Inci Toral worked as a senior manager in the retail banking industry and as a pro…
https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/business/toral-i…
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web search NEUTRAL — By Professor Sarah Montano, Deputy Head of Marketing and Dr Inci Toral Manson, Senior Lecturer HMRC have announced a “side hustle tax” for online sellers. This will predominately affect retail outlets…
https://blog.bham.ac.uk/business-school/
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web search NEUTRAL — University of Birmingham. Birmingham Business School. Inci Toral.Digital platforms are an important organising form in business-to-business markets and have mirrored increasing research in end-user cu…
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Inci-Toral
verified
Claim 6: “Dr. Selcen Ozturkcan, associate professor of business administration at Linnaeus University”
VERIFIED
Official university profiles from Linnaeus University confirm Prof Dr Selcen Öztürkcan holds a position as Associate Professor of Business Administration.
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web search NEUTRAL — Awards. Contact. Prof Dr Selcen Öztürkcan. Home.I hold a tenured position as Docent (Reader/Associate Professor) of Business Administration at Linnaeus University, Sweden, and serve as Network Profess…
https://www.selcenozturkcan.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — Linnaeus University. School of Business and Economics. Selcen Ozturkcan.PhD in Management Engineering. Professor (Associate) at Linnaeus University.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Selcen-Ozturkcan-2
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web search NEUTRAL — Selcen Ozturkcan. Associate professor.Assistant Professor of Business Administration, Jönköping University, Sweden (2017–2019). Full Professor of New Media, Bahcesehir University, Turkey (2017–2018).
https://www.lnu.se/en/staff/selcen.ozturkcan
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.