Francesco Feri

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About

Francesco Feri is a leading behavioral and experimental economist whose research bridges human decision-making with emerging technologies. His work primarily explores trust, cooperation, and strategic behavior in both human-human and human-robot interactions. Feri’s most-cited paper, “Promises and trust in human–robot interaction” (2021, 84 citations), is a landmark study that investigates whether people extend trust to social robots capable of expressing emotional states. This research is critical as intelligent machines become ubiquitous in daily life, revealing that humans do form trust-based relationships with robots, shaped by the robots’ ability to make and keep promises. Beyond this, Feri has made significant contributions to understanding social dilemmas, reciprocity, and the role of communication in fostering cooperation. His experimental designs often combine economic game theory with psychological insights, offering rigorous evidence on how trust is built and broken. With a citation record that underscores his influence, Feri’s work is essential for students and researchers interested in the intersection of behavioral economics, artificial intelligence, and social robotics. His findings have practical implications for designing trustworthy autonomous systems and for policies that promote cooperation in mixed human-machine teams.