Ginger is only a couple of feet tall, but she soon commands attention as she takes to the stage. “I would like to say it’s a pleasure to be here,” she tells the audience, “but I’m a robot and don’t have emotion.”

She waits a beat as the laughter subsides, before continuing. “Social intelligence is so complex that many humans are not good at it! Any programmers or engineers in the house?” Her designer, Heather Knight, sheepishly raises her hand. “I rest my case.”

A robot comedian might sound like a frivolous project – but this kind of experiment could help make all kinds of devices a bit more useful and a bit easier to use. Whether you already use Siri, the iPhone’s personal assistant, or plan to one day hitch a ride in a driverless car, technology is starting to interact with us in more direct, personal ways. Inserting a bit of humour is just one of the ways that designers are hoping to make those devices a bit more likeable and less annoying.

“My hope is that by collaborating and by testing the insights of actors and comedians that perhaps we can make more effective and charismatic technology in general,” Knight, who is based at Carnegie Mellon University, told BBC Future’s World-Changing Ideas Summit in New York last week. “I also like the idea that some of the technology could occasionally have a sense of humour and make fun of itself.”