Humor Computer Interaction 😂
tl;dr — We want to know if and how humor can change our relationship with robots and digital agents. Also, we’ll talk about Pupper Bot, the best puppy robot EVER!
[Humor us]
Asha: So, not to get too serious here, but what is humor?
Joselyn: Humor may seem like a subjective thing. What one person finds humorous, another person may not. However, we do have a way of defining what creates that humor. In most cases, humor is a violation of our expectations (thanks Peter McGraw!).
Lydia Chilton, professor of Computer Science at Columbia University, has developed a super interesting framework for exploring these associations and subsequent violations in The Onion’s ‘American Voices’ — a popular section of the online fake news publication where they use real headline as the subject of humorous responses from “real people on the street.” In her process, participants follow a variation of the following steps( check out more of her work here ):
- Participants are given a real news headline as a prompt:
- “Bitcoin was $800 a Year Ago. Now it’s $17000”
2. Participants explore their associations with an aspect of the prompt:
- Bitcoin → tech-savvy, futuristic, complicated, mysterious;
- $17000 → a lot of money, positive, significant, amazing, cash out point, great ROI
3. Participant create a statement which violates their associations
- E.g. (tech-savvy): “Sounds like my mail orders are finally going through!”
- E.g. (cash out point): “Great! Now I can sell my bitcoin so I can buy more bitcoin!”
Asha: We got very excited about this framework. Aside from humor creation, it’s also a great way to explore biases since it requires you to reflect on your existing associations. You can ask yourself questions to tease these associations out: what words describe this? Who uses this? Who is this for and who is it not for? Where is this used? What is its purpose? etc.
[A robot walks into a bar]
Joselyn: One area I immediately thought of applying this framework to was the realm of digital agents and robots.
Digital agents are computational creations that exist to serve specific user needs. A simple way of thinking about them would be as virtual personalities.
Robots are machines that are programmed to complete certain actions or tasks. Technically, your toaster is a robot. But in this scenario we’re thinking more of robots that are designed for the purposes of hosting a digital agent personality (Cynthia Breazeal has done some really interest work in this area if you want to learn more!).
This area appealed to me, because we see so many representations of robots and digital assistants, both in reality and in media. In reality, we now have personalities like Siri, Alexa, the lady who talks to us from Google Maps. In fiction, we encounter tons of examples, including Samantha from the movie Her, or Janet in the TV show, The Good Place.
So we already have some firmly established expectations in this space, whether conscious or not. This make it easier for us to violate these expectations, and come up with some humorous examples.
Asha: One interesting example I found from poking around the internet was W+K Lodge’s Needybot (do yourself a favor and follow Needybot on insta). Needybot is a robot that essentially can’t do anything for itself. If the robot gets stuck in the corner of a room it can’t turn itself around — it needs a human to help it out.
This seriously violated my expectations of a robot. To me, a robot is something that is built to be fairly self-sufficient, requiring minimal human input. I also picture robots as sleek, mechanical and metallic. Needybot looks like a cross between a minion and a very shaggy dog (seriously add Needybot on instagram).
The W+K Lodge team has gleaned some interesting insights from Needybot’s existence (you can read more at their website) and has even created a platform for you to make your own Needybot. The biggest takeaway of theirs that resonated with me is that one interaction between Needybot and a new user turns cynicism into joy. Needybot doesn’t really fulfill a functional need, but rather it provokes an emotional response. Does a humorous invention like Needybot actually make people feel needed?
[The rise of pupper bot]
Joselyn: This semester we decided to create a bunch of prototypes related to humorous technology. Perhaps both Asha and I’s favorite of these was Pupper Bot (Asha: “definitely”). Pupper Bot is a robot which looks and acts like a puppy. You might be thinking, “What? This is not new. I’ve seen a ton of puppy-like robots and toys?” and you would be right. Over the years we’ve seen a number of robot toys that look like dogs. However, we’re talking about developing a puppy-like robot that actually has the spirit of a puppy. Because having just gotten a puppy, I can tell you that puppies live for themselves. They live to play. They put their own needs first. They disobey, and they ask a ton from you. And we love them for it.
As we workshopped the Pupper Bot idea with funny friends, it admittedly got a little out of hand. Ultimately, the concept developed into an anthropomorphized robot. Here are some key Pupper Bot specs:
- He’s friends with other technologies. He rides the Roomba. He barks at the smart fridge so it will dispense ice (which it loves).
- He lives for yoga, Netflix binges and Pamplemousse La Croix water
- He feels obliged to order fun swag online
- He’s generally about living his best life
- He is autonomous.
Our prototype culminated with a lo-fi video (below). It stars Juneau my actual puppy, who it turns out loathes the Roomba, so that feature had to be cut, but we did our best to get at the essence of the idea.
Throughout the process of conceiving Pupper Bot we gathered informal feedback from ten different people. Here’s what we found:
Results
- Joy at the idea of Pupper Bot. People were sold on Pupper Bot even from the moodboard. Sometimes the existence of the idea of the prototype was enough to provoke an emotional reaction.
- Generative nature of Pupper Bot. Once they heard about Pupper Bot, participants started coming up with their own ideas and violations for digital assistants. It’s possible that Pupper Bot gave participants an example which broadened their perspective of what robots/digital assistants could do.
- Function of Pupper Bot. No one really explored what they would use Pupper Bot for. Rather, they thought the existence of Pupper Bot would make them happy.
Asha: Just chiming in here to say that I am President of the Pupper Bot fan club.
[Knock, knock, what’s next?]
Asha: We may build out something more substantial for Pupper Bot, but in the meantime, here are some questions that we’re thinking about (we would love your thoughts as well!):
Can creating humorous prototypes correct our assumptions of what technology can/should be used for?
Can we use humor to create more emotional relationships with technology?
Can humorous prototypes help us expand our existing associations with a technology?
How can digital assistants impact identity and inclusion? (We’ll touch on this one more in a later post)
Let us know what you think of these questions. Are you using technology in ways that are humorous. We want to know what we should be considering, and we need your input. Leave us a comment below!
[Feedback]
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Bits and Giggles is a design research series featuring conversations between Carnegie Mellon University Human-Computer Interaction researchers Asha Toulmin and Joselyn McDonald.
