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About

Paula Sweeney is a philosopher specializing in the ethics, social significance, and moral status of social robots. Her research sits at the intersection of philosophy of mind, ethics, and emerging technology, addressing some of the most pressing questions raised by the increasing integration of robots into everyday human life. Her most cited work, "Trusting Social Robots" (2022, 30 citations), challenges existing accounts of trust as inadequate for understanding human-robot relationships, identifying deception and façade as central complications. Her influential "Fictional Dualism Model" (2021, 24 citations) offers an original framework for interpreting human emotional responses to social robots and their moral and legislative implications. Sweeney has also critically engaged with debates around robot rights, arguing against indirect harm-based justifications in work accumulating 9 citations. Her 2023 book, *Social Robots*, synthesizes these threads into a broader argument about the revolutionary societal impact of robot companions and assistants. Perhaps most provocatively, she has explored whether destroying a beloved robot could constitute a hate crime, demonstrating her commitment to pushing philosophical inquiry into bold, practical territory. Sweeney is rapidly establishing herself as a distinctive and important voice in robot ethics.