Artif Intell Rev (2006) 25:9–19 DOI 10.1007/s10462-007-9048-z Artificial intelligence and natural magic Noel Sharkey · Amanda Sharkey Published online: 25 October 2007 © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007 Abstract Robotics with AI is part of a long tradition that has run from ancient times that treated the precursors of robots, the automata, as part of Natural Magic or conjury. Deception is an integral part of AI and robotics; in some ways they form a science of illusion. There are many robot tasks, such as caring for the elderly, minding children, doing domestic chores and being companionable, that involve working closely with humans and so require some illusion of animacy and thought. We discuss how the natural magic of robotics is assisted by the cultural myth of AI together with innate human predispositions such as zoomorphism, the willing suspension of disbelief and a tendency to interpret AI devices as part of the social world. This approach provides a justifiable way of meeting the goals of AI and robotics provided that researchers do not allow themselves to be deceived by their own illusions. Keywords Robotics · Artificial intelligence · Zoomorphism · Illusion · Automata · Androids · Animacy 1 Introduction Deception is an integral part of Artificial Intelligence and robotics. In some ways AI is the science of illusion. This is not meant to downplay the scientific and engineering efforts of the practitioners and researchers. For those of us designing devices that operate and interact with humans or other animals, it is important that they seem human (or animal) in some way. Natural Language interfaces and robots with emotional expressions are good examples of communication that encourage perceptions of human qualities in a machine. Many modern robot tasks, such as caring for the elderly, minding children, doing domestic chores, being a companion, and assisting in the office, involve working closely with humans and so require some illusion of animacy and thought. N. Sharkey (B ) · A. Sharkey Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield Regent Court, 211 Portobello Street, Sheffield, S1 4DP, UK e-mail: n.sharkey@dcs.shef.ac.uk 123