How to Make a Robot Feel More Human Than a Human.

Remove confidence.

Most attempts to make robots feel human add something.

Expression.

Emotion.

Backstory.

A carefully calibrated sense of relatability.

This usually has the opposite effect. Humans are not convincing because they are expressive or clear. They are convincing because they hesitate. To make a robot feel more human than a human, the first thing to remove is confidence. Confidence suggests certainty and certainty suggests control. Control does not feel human.

A confident robot looks like it knows what it is doing and why, and this immediately makes it less believable. Instead, allow the robot to exist with mild uncertainty. As if it is doing something for the first time but will not admit that. It should not take up space boldly or withdraw completely. Somewhere in between is better.

The robot does not need to perform emotion. Performances are rehearsed. Humans are not. Let it look like it is quietly checking itself without knowing what it is checking for. A lack of confidence creates room for pause, error and room for interpretation. The robot should not look like it is succeeding or failing. It should look like it is trying to understand the situation and accepting that it may not.

This is where it starts to feel familiar. When you no longer expect it to impress you, reassure you, or prove anything at all, the robot becomes oddly relatable.

If that kind of robot sounds interesting, there are more of them elsewhere on this site. Check out what happens when an unconfident robot has a clothing crisis. They are not very sure of themselves.