Norman_Emotional+Machines

Whyw I love (or Hat ) everyday things Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things Donald A . N orman BASIC B A MEMBER OF THE PERSEUS BOOKS GROUP llOC'A<5 NEW YORK 9 n ) I ; • Copyright C 2004 by Donald A. Norman Published by Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No pan of this book may be reproduced in any manner wharsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address Basic Books, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-8810. Books published by Basic Books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organiz.ations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus Books Group, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, or specialmarkets@perseusbooks.com Designed by Lovedog Studio LIBRARY OF CONGR£SS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Norman, Donald A. Emotional design: why we love (or hate) everyday things I Donald A. Norman. p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-465-05135-9 1. Emotions and cognition. 2. Design-Psychological aspects. 3. Design, Industrial-Psychological aspects. I. Title. BF531.N67 2004 155.9'll~c21 04 05 06 I I 0 9 8 7 6 S 43 2 I CHAPTB;fl SIX Emotional Machines Dave, stop ... Stop, will you . .. Stop, Dave ... Will you stop, Dave ... Stop, Dave ... I'm afraid. I'm afraid ... I'm afraid, Dave ... Dave ... My mind is going ... I can feel it ... I can feel it ... My mind is going ... There is no question about it ... I can feel it ... I can feel it ... I'm a ... fraid. -HAL, the all-powerful computer, in the movie 2001 HA l I S C 0 RR EC T T 0 BE AFRAID: Dave is about to shut him down by dismantling his parts. Of course, Dave is afraid, too: HAL has killed all the other crew of the spacecraft and made an unsuccessful attempt on Dave's life. But why and how does HAL have fear? Is it real fear? I suspect not. HAL correctly diagnoses Dave's intent: Dave wants to kill him. So fear-being afraid-is a logical response to the situation. But human emotions have more than a logical, rational component; they are tight- ly coupled to behavior and feelings. Were HAL a human, he would fight hard to prevent his death, slam some doors, do something to sur- 161 162 Emotional D«sign vive. He could threaten, "Kill me and you will die, too, as soon as the air in your backpack runs out." But HAL doesn't do any of this; he simply states, as a fact, "I'm afraid." HAL has an intellectual knowl- edge of what it means to be afraid, but it isn't coupled to feelings or to action: it isn't real emotion. But why would HAL need real emotions to function? Our machines today don't need emotions. Yes, they have a reasonable amount of intelligence. But emotions? Nope. But future machines will need emotions for the same reasons people do: The human emotional system plays an essential role in survival, social interaction and coop- eration, and learning. Machines will need a form of emotion- machine emotion- when they face the same conditions, when they must operate continuously without any assistance from people in the complex, ever-changing world where new situations continually arise. As machines become more and more capable, taking on many of our roles, designers face the complex task of deciding just how they shall be constructed, just how they will interact with one another and with people. Thus, for the same reason that animals and people have emo- tions, I believe that machines will also need them. They won't be human emotions, mind you, but rather emotions that fit the needs of the machines themselves. Robots already exist. Most are fairly simple automated arms and tools in factories, but they are increasing in power and capabilities, branching out to a much wider array of activities and places. Some do useful jobs, as do the lawn-mowing and vacuum-cleaning robots that already exist. Some, such as the surrogate pets, are playful. Some sim- ple robots are being used for dangerous jobs, such as fire fighting, search-and-rescue missions, or for military purposes. Some robots even deliver mail, dispense medicine, and take on other relatively sim- ple tasks. As robots become more advanced, they will need only the simplest of emotions, starting with such practical ones as visceral-like fear of heights or concern about bumping into things. Robot pets will have playful, engaging personalities. With time, as these robots gain in capability, they will come to possess full-fledged emotions: fear and S i x : Emotional Mach l n