A Robot Forensic Interviewer - The BAD, the GOOD, and the Undiscovered

Henkel, Z. M., & Bethel, C. L. (2016). A Robot Forensic Interviewer - The BAD, the GOOD, and the Undiscovered. Proceedings of the 2017 ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction. Vienna, Austria: ACM.

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to begin a discussion of the benefits, challenges, and ethical concerns related to the use of robots as intermediaries for obtaining sensitive information from children within the human-robot interaction (HRI), criminology, sociology, legal, and psychological communities. As active HRI researchers, trained by the National Child Advocacy Center in Child Forensic Interview Protocols, we would like to invoke a discussion on when it is appropriate to use a robot to gather sensitive information from children as part of a forensic investigative process. A detailed account of potential negative and positive impacts are presented as it relates to the use of robots as forensic interview partners. Open research questions, proposed research studies, and pathways toward deployment of robots as forensic interviewers are provided. We are not trying to eliminate the use of humans as forensic interviewers in cases of child maltreatment, but exploring whether robots can be used to enhance this process and provide additional methods of investigation.