My research examines what happens when people form relationships with AI, how those relationships are experienced, what they reveal about identity and agency, and how they quietly shape the design of the systems people use every day.
My recent book, The Naked Android: Synthetic Socialness and the Human Gaze, examines how the stories people tell about robots and AI don't merely reflect how these systems are built; they actively shape them. Available from Routledge, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble.
Recent
Publication — AI & Society
How emotional attachment to conversational AI develops through interaction over time — and what that means for trust, dependency, and governance.
Blog — Drift
Realbotix built its business on companion robots. This fall, one of them is entering a Salamanca classroom as 'learning support' for teenagers.
Press — GeekWire
I was quoted in this GeekWire piece on Codey, a social robot from Mind Children Robotics targeting classrooms and elder care. (June 2026).
Press — New York Times
Quoted in Kashmir Hill’s investigation into how AI reshapes the boundaries between technology and human companionship.