Papers
7
Total Citations
124
H-Index
5
About
Francisco C. Santos is a leading researcher at the intersection of artificial intelligence, collective robotics, and social dynamics, whose work explores how autonomous systems can foster cooperation in hybrid human-machine societies. His most influential contribution is the visionary concept of "engineering pro-sociality with autonomous agents," as outlined in his 2018 paper (62 citations), which proposes designing AI to actively promote costly, beneficial behaviors like helping and donating. Santos also pioneered "social odometry" (2009, 22 citations), an innovative imitation-based navigation system that allows robot collectives to learn from each other without centralized control, addressing a fundamental challenge in swarm robotics. His research on collective risk dilemmas—particularly the "picky losers and carefree winners" model (2020, 16 citations) and outcome-based partner selection (2019, 10 citations)—provides crucial insights into sustaining cooperation in multi-agent systems by identifying and avoiding free-riders. Through user studies like "Walk the Talk!" (2019), Santos demonstrates how robotic teammates can align words and deeds to enhance human cooperation. With a career spanning over a decade, his work bridges theoretical game theory and practical robotics, offering transformative approaches to designing trustworthy, cooperative AI.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Engineering Pro-Sociality With Autonomous Agents62 citations · 2018
- 2Social Odometry: Imitation Based Odometry in Collective Robotics22 citations · 2009
- 3
- 4Outcome-based Partner Selection in Collective Risk Dilemmas10 citations · 2019
- 5Social Odometry in Populations of Autonomous Robots8 citations · 2008
- 6
- 7To Grip, or Not to Grip: Evolving Coordination in Autonomous Robots2 citations · 2011