Silvana Weber

University of Würzburg, University of Koblenz and Landau

Papers

Total Citations

226

H-Index

About

Silvana Weber’s research lies at the compelling intersection of human-robot interaction and social cognition, where she investigates how people perceive and emotionally respond to humanoid robots. Her most influential work, “The Uncanny of Mind in a Machine: Humanoid Robots as Tools, Agents, and Experiencers” (2019, 202 citations), has become a cornerstone in understanding the uncanny valley phenomenon. In this paper, Weber advances a nuanced framework that distinguishes between robots perceived as mere tools, as autonomous agents, and as entities capable of subjective experience. Her experimental research, including studies on service robots with emotional capabilities (2016), demonstrates that a robot’s perceived capacity to feel—not just to act—is a primary driver of eeriness and discomfort. By integrating mind perception theory with robotics, Weber has reshaped how designers and researchers approach the challenge of making robots both capable and socially acceptable. Her work has significant implications for the development of empathetic and trustworthy AI, and it continues to guide scholars exploring the delicate balance between human-likeness and user comfort in social robotics.