Young children see meaning in human looks but not in robot gazes, new study finds

- Young children see meaning in human looks but not in robot gazes, new study finds Robots, factories, rockets, AI automation — upbeat, technical but readable. New research reveals a fascinating glitch in our social algorithms: babies don’t trust robot eyes. While 12-month-olds predict objects based on human gaze, they treat identical cues from humanoid robots as mere data points, not intentions. This isn’t a bug; it’s a feature of biological hardwiring. Infants distinguish between carbon-based intent and silicon-based simulation. For AI engineers building BabyBot or next-gen companions, this is critical feedback. We can mimic the optics, but we haven’t cracked the code for perceived consciousness. Until robots pass this social Turing test, they’re just sophisticated hardware. The physical layer of AI needs more than sensors; it needs soul.