Cynthia Breazeal is an American robotic scientist, entrepreneur, and researcher known for her work in social robotics. She focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence, robotics, and human-computer interaction. She is a professor at MIT, where she founded and directs the Personal Robots group at the Media Lab.

She is known for contributing to the development of robots capable of interacting and communicating with humans in socially meaningful ways. Her creation, Kismet, is one of the first robots in the world to respond to and understand human emotions. Breazeal is also the co-founder of Jibo, a social robot designed to be a companion for people of all ages, designed to assist with various tasks and engage in conversations with users.

Apart from her work in robotics, she is a leading voice in the global conversations surrounding AI. A strong advocate for AI’s usage and responsible development, she believes that AI can do much good in the world but also warns of the dangers of misuse.