Sonja Erikainen

University of Edinburgh, University of Aberdeen

Papers

Total Citations

114

H-Index

About

Sonja Erikainen is a scholar whose research sits at the intersection of science and technology studies, medical humanities, and the sociology of health and illness, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence, robotics, and their transformative implications for healthcare and human relationships. Her work critically examines how AI and robotic technologies reshape the affective, embodied, and relational dimensions of care, probing what it means to be human when increasingly entangled with intelligent machines. Her 2021 paper, "What makes AI 'intelligent' and 'caring'?", has garnered 95 citations and stands as a significant contribution to debates about affect, relationality, and the evolving boundaries between people and technology in health contexts. Complementing this, her 2023 empirical study moves beyond techno-utopian and dystopian narratives to explore what "acceptable futures" for AI in healthcare might look like, drawing on perspectives from scientists, clinicians, and stakeholders across multiple countries. Together, these works establish Erikainen as a thoughtful and rigorous voice interrogating the social, ethical, and human dimensions of healthcare innovation, offering students and researchers a nuanced framework for understanding AI not merely as a technical artefact but as a profoundly social and relational phenomenon.