Kevin Leyva

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Kevin Leyva’s research sits at the provocative intersection of robotics ethics, human-automation interaction, and the psychological demands of extreme environments. His most influential work, “Life or Death by Robot?” (2016, 11 citations), tackles the profound moral question of whether machines can be programmed to make life-and-death decisions. By exploring societal conceptualizations of robots, Leyva challenges readers to consider the ethical boundaries of autonomous systems, a contribution that resonates deeply in debates on military drones and AI-driven warfare. This paper stands as a cornerstone for scholars examining the moral agency of technology. Additionally, Leyva has contributed to the future of space exploration with “Space Flight Task Contexts for Long Distance and Duration Exploration Missions” (2015, 2 citations), where he identifies critical performance and safety metrics for human-automation systems in prolonged spaceflight. This work underscores his ability to bridge abstract ethical questions with concrete, high-stakes operational challenges. Though his citation counts are modest, Leyva’s thought-provoking focus on robots as both saviors and potential executioners marks him as a distinctive voice in engineering ethics and human factors research.