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Do We Love Robots Too Much?

caption: Technicians from a Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit use a robot to disarm a mine during a training mission.
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Technicians from a Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit use a robot to disarm a mine during a training mission.
Flickr Photo/Marion Doss

You don't have to look further than the film industry to see evidence that humans find robots cute or even lovable (think "WALL-E" or R2D2 from "Star Wars"). That affection for robots is what got University of Washington researcher Julie Carpenter interested in attachment to robots in the battlefield.

Carpenter interviewed an Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit, a group of highly trained soldiers who use robots to disarm explosives. David Hyde talks with Carpenter about her findings and how human-robot attachment could affect battlefield decisions.

Produced by Hannah Burn.

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