Teresa Kaufmann

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Teresa Kaufmann is a leading researcher in human-robot interaction, with a focus on the psychological and ethical implications of robotic voice design. Her work primarily explores how the naturalness of a robot’s voice influences human trust, compliance, and decision-making. In her highly cited 2024 paper, "Influence of Robots’ Voice Naturalness on Trust and Compliance," Kaufmann investigates the risks of advanced text-to-speech systems that produce voices nearly indistinguishable from human speech. She demonstrates that while a natural voice can enhance user trust, it may also lead to over-reliance on robotic systems, even when they are unreliable. This contribution has garnered 12 citations in its first year, signaling its immediate impact on the fields of robotics ethics and human factors engineering. Kaufmann’s research is pivotal for designers and policymakers, urging careful calibration of voice realism to balance user acceptance with safety. Her work is essential reading for students and researchers interested in the social dynamics of autonomous systems and the ethical design of AI interfaces.