“And so the more we humanize chatbots, virtual assistants, and machines, the more we in turn display human emotions toward them. This is the process of anthropomorphism, whereby inanimate objects are attributed with human emotions, traits, and intentions. When something appears alive, it is in our nature to view it through a human lens. Now that many AIs and conversational bots have the illusion of being self-aware, they therefore trigger emotional responses in their users as if they were human. If the despised printer in Office Space had resembled a human (or a living animal, for that matter), our feelings toward both the object and the violent perpetrators would be altered. That’s why many people cringe when they see Boston Dynamics’ robotic dog getting kicked.”

Is it unethical to design robots to resemble humans?
https://qz.com/1010828/is-it-unethical-to-design-robots-to-resemble-humans/
via Instapaper