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Social Robotics, Education, and Religion in the Islamic World: An Iranian Perspective

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Abstract

The social impact of robotics applied to domains such as education, religion, nursing, and therapy across the world depends on the level of technology as well as the culture in which it is used. By studying how robots are used in Iran, a technologically-savvy country with a long history and a rich culture, we explore their possible impact on interrelated areas of religious and ethical features in education in an Islamic society. To accomplish this task, a preliminary exploratory study was conducted using two social robots as teaching assistants in Islamic religion classes for 42 elementary students. More than 90% of the participants in the study absolutely preferred the robot-assisted religion class over one taught by a human. Building on the results from the students’ viewpoints and exam scores, the acceptability and potential of using social robots in the education of Islamic religious concepts in Iran are further discussed in this paper.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported in part by the Iranian National Science Foundation (INSF, http://en.insf.org/) and the Office of Vice-President in Charge of Science & Technology to promote Social and Cognitive Robotics Research at Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran. We also appreciate the friendly staff of Omid-e-Ayandeh Elementary School for Girls and our lab members Mr. Ehsan Ahmadi, Ms. Negar Ebadi, Mr. Amirreza Rajmjoo, Ms. Nafise Haeri for their cooperation, and Mrs. Shari Lin Holderread for English editing of the manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by the Iranian National Science Foundation (INSF, http://en.insf.org/).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Humanities, Islamic Azad University-West Tehran Branch, Tehran, Iran

    Minoo Alemi

  2. Social & Cognitive Robotics Laboratory, Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

    Minoo Alemi, Alireza Taheri & Ali Meghdari

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London, UK

    Azadeh Shariati

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  1. Minoo Alemi
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  2. Alireza Taheri
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Correspondence to Minoo Alemi or Ali Meghdari.

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Author Ali Meghdari has received research grants from the Iranian National Science Foundation (INSF, http://en.insf.org/). The authors Minoo Alemi, Alireza Taheri, and Azadeh Shariati declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Alemi, M., Taheri, A., Shariati, A. et al. Social Robotics, Education, and Religion in the Islamic World: An Iranian Perspective. Sci Eng Ethics 26, 2709–2734 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-020-00225-1

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