Tomi Kokkonen

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About

Tomi Kokkonen is a philosopher of technology whose work tackles foundational questions about what robots are and how they should be integrated into human life. His primary research areas include the definition and ontology of robots, value-sensitive design, and the ethical implications of embodied artificial intelligence. In his most cited work, “Robot Kingdom: On the Difficulty of Finding the Definition of Robots” (2025, 3 citations), Kokkonen critically examines the persistent challenge of establishing a universally applicable definition for robots, arguing that their dual existence as both technological artefacts and fictional constructs complicates any single, stable classification. This conceptual groundwork informs his applied research, notably in “Beyond Robot Therapy: Embodied AI, Mental Healthcare, and Value Sensitive Design” (2023, 2 citations), where he co-imagines the “robotic home”—an integrated, proactive smart home system designed to support mental health. By foregrounding value-sensitive design, Kokkonen insists that such technologies must be shaped by human well-being, not just technical capability. Though early in his career, his work bridges abstract philosophical inquiry with pressing real-world design challenges, establishing him as a thoughtful voice in the ethics of emerging robotic systems.