Talking to human-like devices (设备) can be great fun – just ask Siri to tell you a joke. But it may also lead to problems.

和智能设备交谈可以十分有趣 —— 不信就让siri 和你说个笑话。但这或许也会带来一些问题。

A recent study by scientists from the University of Kansas (KU) in the US found that human-like devices keep people from seeking out normal human interaction (互动) when they feel lonely.

近来，来自美国堪萨斯大学的一项研究发现，智能设备在人们感到孤独时，反而阻碍了人们寻求正常的人际互动。

During a series of experiments, participants were asked to write about a time when they felt lonely. They also took part in an online game of “catch” against a computer program that was designed to “throw” the ball to other players more often, but participants believed they were playing with real people online.

在一系列实验中，参与者们被要求写下他们感到孤独的时刻。他们还参加了一个在线“接球”游戏。在游戏中，一个经过设置的电脑程序会更加频繁地向其他玩家“扔”球，但参与者们都认为自己在线上和真人玩游戏。

Participants were then introduced to human-like products, including a vacuum cleaner (真空吸尘器) designed to appear as if it were smiling. They were also asked to think about their phone in human-like terms, considering questions like “how much does it help you?”

随后，参与者们收到了一些智能产品，如被设计成看起来像在微笑的真空吸尘器。他们还被要求用拟人的方式看待自己的手机，考虑如“它在多大程度上帮助了你”等问题。

The results showed that the participants were happy with the comfort they got from the machines and didn’t need to seek out normal human interaction.

结果显示，参与者们对于自己从机器身上获得慰藉感到开心，不再需要寻求正常的人际交往。

Generally, when people feel socially excluded (排斥), they seek out other ways to reduce the feeling of loneliness. Normal ways include increasing their number of social media friends or engaging in (参与) behaviors to seek out interaction with other people, according to Jenny Olson, assistant professor of marketing at KU.

总体来说，当人们感到被社会排斥，他们会需求一些其他方式来减少这一孤独感。堪萨斯大学市场营销学副教授珍妮·奥尔森认为，正常的方式包括增加自己社交媒体朋友的数量，或是参与到寻求与他人互动的行为中去。

But it wasn’t all bad news, as the team found that there were limits to how far this effect would extend (扩大).

但这些并不都是坏消息，该研究小组发现，这一影响扩大的程度范围是有限的。

“As soon as we tell people we know that it looks like the [vacuum cleaner] is smiling, they seemed to realize it was a machine and not a person,” Olson told Daily Mail. “The effect goes away. This seems to be happening on a very subconscious (潜意识的) level.”

“一旦我们告诉人们，我们知道(真空吸尘器)看起来在微笑，他们似乎就会意识到那是个机器，而非人类，”奥尔森在接受《每日邮报》采访时表示。“影响消失了。它似乎只发生在十分潜意识的层面。”

Researchers believe the results are important for consumers to realize how these types of products could affect their social interaction with real people, especially because so many new products feature interactivity.

研究人员认为，这些结果对于消费者们意识到这类产品如何影响他们和真人的社交十分重要，尤其因为现在许多新产品都有互动性的功能。

“If someone notices they are talking more to Siri lately, maybe that has something to do with feeling lonely,” Olson said. “From that standpoint (立场), it’s important to be aware of it.”

“如果有人意识到自己近期和Siri交谈得更频繁了，或许那就和感到孤独有关，”奥尔森说道。“从那一角度来看，意识到这些十分重要。”

The study could also help companies design products that can increase the well-being of people who feel lonely, without sacrificing (牺牲) normal social interaction.

该研究还能帮助公司设计增进感到孤独的人们幸福感的产品，并且不会牺牲人们正常的社交。

“Maybe it is more about improving our current relationships,” Olson said, “such as taking a break from screen time and focusing on developing your real personal connections.”

“或许这更多地与改进我们现有的人际关系有关，”奥尔森说道，“比如从对着屏幕的时间中休息片刻，关注自身真实人际关系的发展。”