Max Robotics — Global Service Robot Directory + US Certification

About

Alessandro Geraci is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of cognitive psychology and human-robot interaction, with a focused expertise on how inner speech—the silent, self-directed dialogue we all experience—can be leveraged to build more trustworthy and relatable machines. His major contribution lies in demonstrating that programming robots with overt self-talk systems, which simulate human inner speech, significantly enhances human trust and perceptions of anthropomorphism. In his foundational 2021 work, "Automation Inner Speech as an Anthropomorphic Feature Affecting Human Trust" (18 citations), Geraci established the theoretical framework linking this elusive psychological process to human-automation trust. He then empirically validated this concept in his 2023 study, "Robot’s Inner Speech Effects on Human Trust and Anthropomorphism" (16 citations), showing that a robot's audible self-reflection makes it appear more self-aware and capable. By bridging the gap between internal cognitive processes and external robotic behavior, Geraci is redefining how we design socially intelligent agents, offering a novel pathway to foster deeper, more intuitive cooperation between humans and machines.