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About

Minha Lee is a leading voice in human-robot interaction, specializing in the moral psychology of artificial agents and the design of artificial identity. Her work critically examines how people hold robots accountable for harm—a cornerstone of her most cited paper, “People May Punish, Not Blame, Robots” (25 citations), which reveals a striking dissociation between punitive behavior and moral blame in human-robot encounters. Lee also pioneered the concept of “Robo-Identity,” exploring how traits like personality and backstory individuate robots, with her workshop series (17 and 11 citations) advancing discourse on synthetic emotion and speech. Her research on transparency in morally charged interactions (“Here’s Looking at You, Robot,” 5 citations) and conversational interfaces for vulnerable populations, such as senior citizens using the Roberta assistant, underscores a human-centered approach. With a growing body of work spanning punishment, identity, and ethical design, Lee’s contributions are shaping how we understand moral accountability and social belonging in a world shared with autonomous robots.