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About

Dean Yergens is a critical voice at the intersection of disability studies, emerging technologies, and health ethics. His research interrogates how social robotics, brain-machine interfaces, and neuro/cognitive enhancement technologies are framed and accepted, particularly through the lens of disability. In his highly cited 2012 work, *Imagery of Disabled People within Social Robotics Research* (24 citations), Yergens exposes how disabled individuals are often depicted as passive subjects or testbeds rather than as active users or co-designers. His 2013 paper on *Social Robots, Brain Machine Interfaces and Neuro/Cognitive Enhancers* (22 citations) systematically applies technology acceptance models to these three converging domains, revealing how societal readiness and ethical discourse lag behind innovation. Yergens further challenges the very definition of health in his 2013 work on *Emerging Therapeutic Enhancement Enabling Health Technologies* (15 citations), arguing that interventions are often benchmarked against a “species-typical” norm, thereby marginalizing those who deviate from it. Collectively, his work has shaped conversations around inclusive design, ethical governance, and the need to center disabled perspectives in the development of transformative technologies.