Another doctor in our sHAI-group: Navya Sharan defended her PhD and answered the question how we socially interact with digital agents and how we best explain this in theory

On April 23rd, 2025, Navya Sharan successfully defended her dissertation at the University of Amsterdam. Navya’s dissertation explores the timely research question: how do we socially interact with digital agents, and to what extent do existing theoretical frameworks explain these interactions?

Are We Still Treating Computers Like People?

Navya’s work challenges one of the foundational theoretical lines in human-machine communication: the Computers-Are-Social-Actors (CASA) framework. Developed over three decades ago, this framework suggested that people respond to computers and media agents as if they were human, exhibiting social behaviours and norms such as politeness, cooperation, and attributing humanlike characteristics.

But times have changed.

Technology today is far more advanced, social robots representing the epitome these socially   sophisticated technologies. Social robots move, gesture, and even live with us. People have also become more familiar with these technologies, and consequently, more critical. So, do we still treat them like social beings? And should we?

Does CASA Still Apply to Modern Social Robots?

Navya and her team conducted three studies to find out. In one, people worked in teams with a robot. The robot was made to seem as though it had superhuman intelligent, but people did not necessarily treat it like a teammate.

In another study, the presence of a face (versus absence) in a robot that was helpful towards people did not influence the extent to which they felt the need to return the favour.

And in a third, long-term study, children lived with a social robot in their homes for eight weeks. Despite regular interaction, social bonds did not automatically form; neither social presence nor feelings of companionship showed any consistent patterns.

Time for a New Theory?

These findings paint a complex picture: while we sometimes respond to robots socially, these responses are not in the ways we used to. Navya’s dissertation argues that it may be time to move beyond CASA and adapt or extend the theory to reflect today’s technologies and today’s users. Especially when advanced digital agents like robots are no longer novel toys, but long-term companions, helpers, and even team members.

As our relationship with artificial intelligence deepens, Navya’s work reminds us that understanding these interactions is more than academic; it is essential for designing technology that fits into our lives in ways that are truly meaningful.

Navya’s work was covered by the UvA Press: Do we consider robots as social partners?

🚀 Congratulations, Navya, on this milestone and brilliant research!