Helena Scholl

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About

Helena Scholl is a leading voice in the ethics of human-robot interaction, with a primary focus on trust, care, and the social dimensions of artificial intelligence. Her most-cited work, "Can robots be trustworthy?" (2023, 12 citations), critically redefines how we conceptualize trust in the context of social robots, particularly in care settings. Scholl argues that genuine trust requires moral agency and vulnerability—qualities robots fundamentally lack—challenging the field to move beyond misleading anthropomorphic language. Her research bridges philosophy and applied ethics, offering a rigorous framework for evaluating when and how we should rely on robotic systems. By dissecting what it means for a robot to be "social," she has shaped debates on transparency, deception, and user autonomy. Though early in her career, Scholl’s contributions are already influencing designers and policymakers, urging them to prioritize human dignity over technical capability. Her work stands as a vital corrective in an era of rapid AI deployment, reminding us that trust is not a feature to be engineered, but a relationship to be earned.