Robots Assess Whether To Trust Or Distrust People

Samuele Vinanzi, Senior Lecturer in Robotics and AI at Sheffield Hallam University, told the Robot Talk podcast on 13 February 2026 about research on how robots determine whether to trust or distrust people. He described work in cognitive robotics focusing on emotional intelligence, intention reading and artificial trust and discussed his recent book, In Robots We Trust, which explores trust relationships between humans and robots.