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Dr. Cynthia Breazeal
Professor of Media Arts & Sciences, MIT Media Lab
Massachusetts, USA / Asian, Caucasian
👩 she/her/hers
🎓 Bachelors in Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1989
🎓 Master of Science- in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, MIT, 1993
🎓 Doctor of Science- in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, MIT, 2000
😁 Dr. Breazeal was the scientific consultant on the robots for the movie Ted.
Dr. Breazeal, MIT professor and founding director of the Personal Robots Group, is a trailblazer in social robotics and Al education, bridging technology, design, and humanity to advance responsible Al, computational action, equity, and human connection worldwide.
ABOUT HER WORK
Dr. Cynthia Breazeal is a pioneering researcher, educator, and entrepreneur whose work bridges robotics, artificial intelligence, and human-centered design. As a Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at MIT and founder of the Personal Robots Group at the MIT Media Lab, she is widely recognized as a founding figure in social robotics and human-robot interaction. Her research explores how socially intelligent robots can support learning, health, and emotional well-being by engaging with people in natural, empathetic ways. Beyond robotics, Breazeal is a leader in AI literacy and responsible innovation and founding the MIT RAISE initiative, which promotes equitable access to AI education worldwide. She also launched the global Day of AI program, training over 75K K12 teachers, reaching over two million students in classroom learning across 170 countries. Through her groundbreaking academic, entrepreneurial, and outreach efforts, Breazeal continues to shape how humans and intelligent technologies can coexist to advance learning, creativity, and social good.
WATCH & DISCUSS
Watch: The Rise of Personal Robots
Discuss:
Critical Thinking / Reflection
How could personal robots make daily life better for people, especially older adults or students?
What are some challenges or problems you think might happen if robots become part of people’s daily lives?
Do you think robots can really understand or care about humans? Why or why not?
Creativity / Application
If you could design a social robot, what would it do and how would it interact with people?
How could schools or homes use social robots to help people learn, connect, or stay healthy?How could robots be designed to help older adults feel less lonely or more connected to others?
OTHER RESOURCES
Social Robots for Human Flourishing with Cynthia Breazeal, PhD
What are some good and bad things about using robots as companions or helpers for people?
In what ways can robots support learning or hobbies for older adults, like reading, exercising, or remembering things?
How can we make sure robots are kind, fair, and respectful when working with people of different ages?
What do you think makes a robot feel more “human-like” — and why might that matter to someone who spends time with it?
ARTICLES
Designing Social Robots for Older Adults
This paper introduces robots that use social cues and interact with users in “interpersonal” ways as a means to reduce older adults' social isolation by fostering face-to-face connectedness with family, friends, staff, doctors, and other professionals. Personal Robots GroupOlder Adults Living With Social Robots
This work explores the role and impact of a social robot in facilitating human-to-human engagement in an assisted-living community. Older adults, in particular, are a population in need of sufficient social connectedness to promote their well-being. MIT Media LabPromising Directions for Human-Robot Interactions Defined by Older Adults
This paper explores older adults’ perspectives towards specific focus areas of social robot interactions over the course of a year-long co-design process informed by interviews and a design guideline generation session. FrontiersEmpowering Older Adults as Co-Designers of Social Robots
This paper shares experiences from year-long research activities aiming to design and evaluate conversational voice assistants for older adults through longitudinal deployment, interviews, co-design workshops, and evaluation studies. ResearchGateArtificial Emotional Intelligence in Socially Assistive Robots for Older Adults: A Pilot Study
This study presents research on integrating artificial emotional intelligence in a social robot (Ryan) and studies the robot's effectiveness in engaging older adults. The empathic version of Ryan utilizes a multimodal emotion recognition algorithm and a multimodal emotion expression system. arXiv
EXTENSION ACTIVITIES
Design Your Own Social Robot
Activity: Students sketch or 3D-design a robot that could help a specific population (older adults, students, or people with disabilities).
Extension: Identify what social behaviors or expressions the robot would use to communicate and build trust.
Learning Goals: Human-centered design, empathy, creativity, AI literacy.
ADVICE TO YOUNGER SELF
