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About

Pim Haselager is a cognitive scientist and AI researcher whose work spans human-robot interaction, machine agency, trust in artificial intelligence, and embodied cognition. Based at Radboud University Nijmegen, Haselager has established himself as a leading voice in the philosophical and psychological dimensions of how humans relate to increasingly autonomous machines. His most influential contributions examine the conditions under which people extend trust, agency, and moral responsibility to robots and AI systems. His 2014 study on robot performance and behavioral style (114 citations) demonstrated how design choices directly shape human trust, while his 2017 work on machine agency perception (76 citations) explored the psychological mechanisms behind anthropomorphizing technology. His 2021 paper defending trust in medical AI (57 citations) makes a rigorous case for rethinking how patients and clinicians engage with algorithmic decision-making in healthcare. Haselager's research also ventures into provocative territory, including the ethics of sex robots (2019) and the cognitive foundations of shared human-machine control, notably examining how blame and responsibility are attributed when autonomous systems fail. His earlier theoretical work on embodied and embedded cognition further grounds his approach in a rich philosophical tradition. Across his career, Haselager consistently bridges cognitive science, robotics, and ethics to address urgent questions about humans coexisting with intelligent machines.