Robot ethicist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Kate Darling, a lawyer and robot ethicist who grew up in Basel, works and researches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab to find out whether people need to be protected from machines or whether robots in fact need rights. She examines the emotional connection between humans and lifelike machines and anticipates difficult issues that will concern legislators, engineers and the general public as human-robot relationships evolve in the near future. Darling graduated with distinction in law and holds a doctorate in natural sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich). At home she takes care of several household robots, including her robot dinosaurs Yochai, Peter, Mr Spaghetti and Bones McPLeo.
