The difference between my laptop and my calculator

It seems we, humans, attach thoughts and feelings to almost anything. That table you painted yourself, that teapot you got as a gift or that cabinet that belonged to your grandparents. These are things made of wood, or steel or rock that are not worth more than anything you could buy at the store today. Yet, there are just some items we would never consider replacing. That is because they contain a piece of ourselves or our loved ones. They have a history, a story, maybe even a soul?

Sometimes we take it one step further, and we can give an entire personality to an inanimate object. Think about that one annoying plant that is never happy, it doesn't like too much sun, but it also gets mad when you place it in the shadow. Or that teddy bear you've had since you were five years old. Sometimes I will even have entire conversations with my laptop when I try to convince her to 'please do not shut down right now, I haven't saved my work, please laptop, I know you work hard, I love you...'

And that while a laptop does not resemble any animal, human or other, I know of. So its strange, isn't it? That I would have a conversation with my laptop, but not with my calculator, washing machine or blow dryer? (Another explanation, of course, is that I am just an unusual person.)

But what about robots? Robots are usually specifically designed to resemble human beings. Would it feel more natural to talk to a robot which looks like yourself? I think this is still quite a difficult question to answer, since human-robot communication is not yet part of our everyday lives. I feel a strong emotional connection to my dining table (which I painted and assembled myself!), but also to my favorite plushy. Yet, I do not talk to my dining table, but I do talk with my plushy. So I think it very much depends on the type of bond you have with a robot as well. A robot that cooks you breakfast, gives you hugs and tells you how awesome you are? I would become the best of friends with this robot! A robot that wakes me up and does my laundry? Not so much.