To conclude scientifically what people think about human-like robots, we'd have to get random sample of humans, show them a group of robots (including ones that are very 'robotic'-- sporting no facial features -- ones that mimic humans, ones like Aibo, like cartoon-type creatures, or fluffy animal-like ones) and see which they prefer. But to continue a little more with some speculation...
You make a good point about people enjoying robots like Aibo, R2D2, and C3P0, even though they're not too similar to real living beings. The idea that cartoon animals are more inviting than real ones, too, is well taken. I agree that displaying personality, as these robots do, makes them more 'loveable'. That still fits well with the idea that life-like (though not necessarily human) robots engage people more than, say, a pile of machinery on wheels.
But I'd say people are more into themselves than you say. People enjoy real, life-like portrayals of random strangers -- if you give them a good photographer's photograph that captures perfect strangers wrapped up in some human emotion, people will enjoy that. One time in a museum, I saw this janitor, leaning against the wall, wiping his forehead with a handrag as he rested from mopping. I was startled to realize, on closer inspection, that he wasn't real, but a life-size wax sculpture of a janitor; I still remember him, as I think many people who saw him do. If people saw a real, human-like robot, whether the robot was showing normal human emotion (laughing, or bunching up his forehead in disapproval) or doing superhuman tasks ("What's 15 * 82 * 37 * 42?" "Oh, that is 1,911,420."), I tend to think people would be rather intrigued.
Human-Like Robots, another Perspective
To conclude scientifically what people think about human-like robots, we'd have to get random sample of humans, show them a group of robots (including ones that are very 'robotic'-- sporting no facial features -- ones that mimic humans, ones like Aibo, like cartoon-type creatures, or fluffy animal-like ones) and see which they prefer. But to continue a little more with some speculation...
You make a good point about people enjoying robots like Aibo, R2D2, and C3P0, even though they're not too similar to real living beings. The idea that cartoon animals are more inviting than real ones, too, is well taken. I agree that displaying personality, as these robots do, makes them more 'loveable'. That still fits well with the idea that life-like (though not necessarily human) robots engage people more than, say, a pile of machinery on wheels.
But I'd say people are more into themselves than you say. People enjoy real, life-like portrayals of random strangers -- if you give them a good photographer's photograph that captures perfect strangers wrapped up in some human emotion, people will enjoy that. One time in a museum, I saw this janitor, leaning against the wall, wiping his forehead with a handrag as he rested from mopping. I was startled to realize, on closer inspection, that he wasn't real, but a life-size wax sculpture of a janitor; I still remember him, as I think many people who saw him do. If people saw a real, human-like robot, whether the robot was showing normal human emotion (laughing, or bunching up his forehead in disapproval) or doing superhuman tasks ("What's 15 * 82 * 37 * 42?" "Oh, that is 1,911,420."), I tend to think people would be rather intrigued.