Tom Williams

About

Tom Williams is a prominent researcher at the intersection of human-robot interaction (HRI), natural language processing, and robot ethics, whose work has fundamentally shaped how we understand social and moral dimensions of robotic systems. His research spans several interconnected areas: enabling robots to interpret and generate natural language — including indirect speech acts and pragmatic communication — developing frameworks for mixed reality interfaces in HRI, and exploring the ethical and moral dimensions of autonomous robots in social contexts. Williams has made particularly notable contributions to the emerging field of Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality for HRI, co-founding the influential VAM-HRI workshop series and co-authoring a widely adopted survey that established shared terminology for the field (accumulating over 100 citations). His investigations into morally competent robots — examining how robots should handle noncompliance, deliver moral rebukes, and navigate social norms — have opened critical conversations about the societal implications of language-capable AI systems. His 2019 paper warning that such robots may inadvertently weaken human moral norms has proven especially thought-provoking. With multiple papers exceeding 60 citations and research spanning pandemic-era adaptations to HRI methodology, Williams has established himself as a versatile and ethically conscientious voice in robotics research.

Research Focus

Key Achievements

Top Papers

1. 1
   Where to Next? The Impact of COVID-19 on Human-Robot Interaction Research

   105 citations · 2020
2. 2
   Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality for Human-robot Interaction: A Survey and Virtual Design Element Taxonomy

   102 citations · 2023
3. 3
   Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality for Human-Robot Interaction

   74 citations · 2018
4. 4
   A Theory of Social Agency for Human-Robot Interaction

   63 citations · 2021
5. 5
   Exploring the Role of Gender in Perceptions of Robotic Noncompliance

   61 citations · 2020
6. 6
   Language-Capable Robots may Inadvertently Weaken Human Moral Norms

   60 citations · 2019
7. 7
   Going Beyond Literal Command-Based Instructions: Extending Robotic Natural Language Interaction Capabilities

   60 citations · 2015
8. 8
   Covert Robot-Robot Communication: Human Perceptions and Implications for HRI

   45 citations · 2015
9. 9
   Enabling Robots to Understand Indirect Speech Acts in Task-Based Interactions

   45 citations · 2017
10. 10
    Blame-Laden Moral Rebukes and the Morally Competent Robot: A Confucian Ethical Perspective

    45 citations · 2020

Key Collaborators

Contact & Links