Dignity – Identity Disclosure
The robot's artificial nature is clearly stated.
Identity disclosure in human-robot interaction refers to the requirement that users are clearly made aware they are interacting with an artificial system rather than a human agent. While this may seem straightforward, it plays a significant role in shaping expectations, trust, and interpretation of behaviour. In everyday settings, such as care assistance, education, or companionship robots, users can easily attribute human-like intentions or capabilities to systems that do not actually possess them. Identity disclosure therefore functions as a grounding mechanism, helping to keep the interaction aligned with what the robot can and cannot do, and reducing the risk of misunderstanding or misplaced expectations.
In the context of dignity, identity disclosure is positioned as the positive counterpart to deception or "tricking." It requires that the artificial nature of the robot is clearly communicated so that users are not misled into anthropomorphising its behaviour beyond what is appropriate. This also helps establish a more stable interaction framework: users can still engage naturally with the robot, but without losing sight of its non-human status. The focus is not on reducing engagement, but on ensuring that engagement is informed and appropriately framed, particularly when robots are deployed in intimate or socially sensitive environments.
One approach proposed is to provide users with ways to "lift the curtain," explicitly reminding them of the robot's artificial nature. This aligns with qualitative findings where participants explicitly state awareness that the system is automated and not a person, framing it similarly to interacting with a machine interface rather than a social actor. At the same time, experimental results indicate that transparency alone is not always sufficient; trust depends strongly on social context and how prior interactions are understood.
Excerpts from the paper:
About the value "Dignity"
Dignity groups the topics relating to the respect owed to all humans and to the subject's self-image. Although it was not identified as an initial value during the scoping review, focus groups participants agreed that dignity should replace honour as a value, with agency considered separately.
About "Identity Disclosure"
This represents the positive side of tricking, where a robot's artificial nature is clearly disclosed to users. This means ensuring that users are aware that they are interacting with a machine and not a human, which helps to set appropriate expectations and avoid any misunderstandings as pointed out by the focus groups participants.