Ivar R. Hannikainen
Papers
3
Total Citations
14
H-Index
2
About
Ivar R. Hannikainen is a moral psychologist whose research explores how people judge the ethical decisions of artificial agents, particularly in high-stakes dilemmas. His work centers on the intersection of moral cognition and human-robot interaction, investigating why we hold robots to different ethical standards than humans. In his most cited study, "Innocence over utilitarianism: Heightened moral standards for robots in rescue dilemmas" (2023, 10 citations), Hannikainen conducted eight experiments with over 3,700 participants, revealing that robots are paradoxically expected to be more utilitarian than humans—yet are judged more harshly when they fail to meet deontological ideals. This asymmetry effect, where AI agents face greater moral scrutiny for identical actions, is further explored in his 2025 work on AI-assisted euthanasia decisions. Hannikainen’s research has significant implications for AI ethics, policy-making, and the design of autonomous systems, challenging assumptions about moral responsibility in human-robot interactions. His findings are essential reading for students and researchers in moral psychology, AI ethics, and human-computer interaction.
Research Focus
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