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About

Seungcheol Austin Lee is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of human-robot interaction (HRI) and strategic communication. His work fundamentally explores how robots can ethically and effectively persuade humans, and how trust is built—or broken—between people and machines. Lee’s major contributions center on applying classic social psychology principles to robotics. His most cited work (194 citations) provides critical, nationally representative evidence on the public’s fear of autonomous AI, revealing the deep-seated anxieties that must be addressed for widespread adoption. He has further demonstrated that robots can leverage powerful human persuasive techniques, such as reciprocity (“The Role of Reciprocity in Verbally Persuasive Robots,” 57 citations) and the sequential-request “foot-in-the-door” strategy (48 citations). Lee’s research also advances a dynamic communication model of trust, distinguishing between user-generated and robot-generated content to predict interaction outcomes. By grounding complex HRI challenges in established communication theory, Lee provides a vital roadmap for designing robots that are not only functional but also socially and psychologically intelligent, with notable applications in inclusive education.