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About

Ruchen Wen is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of robot ethics, human-robot interaction (HRI), and moral artificial intelligence, with a distinctive focus on integrating Confucian and non-Western ethical frameworks into the design of socially competent robots. Her work challenges the field's historical reliance on Western deontological and utilitarian paradigms, arguing instead for ethical pluralism that draws on virtue ethics, role-based relational norms, and Confucian philosophy to guide robot moral reasoning and communication. Among her most influential contributions, Wen has explored how robots can serve as effective moral advisors (44 citations), deliver blame-laden moral rebukes with cultural sensitivity (45 citations), and tactfully refuse immoral human commands (31 citations). Her research reveals that robots hold genuine persuasive power over human behavior, making ethical design not merely an academic concern but a practical imperative. More recently, her Robots for Social Justice (R4SJ) framework (17 citations) signals a broadening of her vision toward equitable and inclusive HRI engineering practices. With over 200 cumulative citations and contributions spanning computational ethics, natural language generation, and social robotics, Wen's scholarship offers indispensable guidance for researchers and designers building morally competent machines for a diverse, multicultural world.