Designing Robots That Don't Hide Absence
■ When the operator leaves, the robot becomes something else entirely Remote operators have lives of their own. A doorbell rings, and they step away. Their robot stays behind, mid-game with a child. Absence is not an accident; it is routine. The question is whether the robot hides it or shows it.
■ Keeping up the act makes people feel deceived later on If an AI quietly continues in the same voice, the moment feels seamless. But anyone who notices later feels the whole game was a trick. Trust breaks not from absence, but from appearing present when no one is there.
■ Conclusion: Signal absence clearly through eyes, voice, and stillness Pikarikun narrows its eyes, switches to an AI voice, and lowers its arms. With three signals aligned, the child reads it as sleep and Hakobukun decides to wait. Honest status display teaches people how to wait. Only a robot that admits absence gets welcomed back.
