Neurotic, anxious robots like C-3P0 from Star Wars' C-3P0 and Marvin from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy are a staple of science fiction — but they're not as common in the real world. Most of the time, the chatbots and artificial intelligence "robots" we encounter are programmed to be extraverted, confident and cheerful. But what if that changed?

NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce dives into the world of robot personality research and talks to a team of researchers that are experimenting with a very different kind of robot temperament.

Read more of Nell's reporting on the topic here.

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The Trait That Makes Robots More 'Human'

Short Wave

The Trait That Makes Robots More 'Human'