Catriona Wallace
Global Authority on Responsible AI & the Ethics of Emerging Technology | Founder of Flamingo AI & the Responsible Metaverse Alliance | Shark on Shark Tank Australia
Kate Darling
MIT Media Lab Research Scientist | Lead of Robotics, Ethics & Society at the RAI Institute | World Authority on Robot Ethics & Author of The New Breed
Dr. Kate Darling is a leading expert on robot ethics and the social future of robotics and AI. An MIT Media Lab research scientist who leads the Robotics, Ethics, and Society team at the RAI Institute, she has spent over a decade studying how humans connect with lifelike machines, and what it means for our laws, work, and humanity. Author of The New Breed, she offers a surprising, optimistic, and deeply human view of our future with robots.
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Kate Darling biography
Robotics speaker Dr. Kate Darling is one of the world’s foremost experts on robot ethics and the social future of robotics and artificial intelligence. A research scientist at the MIT Media Lab and the leader of the Robotics, Ethics, and Society team at the Robotics and AI (RAI) Institute, she has spent more than a decade studying one of the most fascinating questions of our age: how humans connect, emotionally and socially, with lifelike machines, and what those relationships will mean for our laws, our work, and our sense of what it is to be human.
Darling brings a rare, interdisciplinary lens to technology, blending law, economics, and robotics. She holds a doctorate of sciences from ETH Zurich, co-taught a robot ethics course at Harvard Law School with Lawrence Lessig, and has held fellowships at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society and the Yale Information Society Project. Named to the Thinkers50 Radar and a winner of the American Bar Association’s Mark T. Banner Award, she is a leading voice helping lawmakers, companies, and the public think clearly about the technologies entering our everyday lives.
The New Breed: Rethinking Our Future with Robots
In her acclaimed book The New Breed, Darling challenges the tired narrative that robots are here to replace us. Drawing on the long history of how humans have partnered with animals, she argues that robots will supplement rather than replace our skills and relationships, and that treating them with a measure of humanity will actually serve us better. It is a surprising, optimistic reframing of a conversation usually dominated by fear, and it has made her a sought-after voice everywhere from the New Yorker, the Guardian, and the BBC to WIRED and Vogue.
As a speaker, Kate Darling is warm, funny, and genuinely captivating, famous for bringing live robots on stage to turn complex ideas about ethics and emotion into unforgettable, hands-on moments. She speaks on the real impact of robots and AI (beyond the hype and the doom), the ethics of intelligent machines, how humans and robots will work and live together, and what all of it reveals about ourselves. Audiences leave reassured, intrigued, and seeing the future of technology in an entirely new and more human way.
Kate Darling Speaking Videos
Why we have an emotional connection to robots | Kate Darling
The Future of AI & Human-Robot Interaction | WSO2Con USA 2024
Kate Darling Keynote Topics
Drawing on her acclaimed book, Dr. Kate Darling flips the script on the fear that robots are coming for our jobs and our humanity. Using the long history of how we’ve partnered with animals as a guide, she shows that robots are far more likely to supplement us than replace us, and that the smartest, most ethical path forward is to build diverse new relationships with machines. Warm, witty, and often featuring live robots on stage, this keynote leaves audiences optimistic, reassured, and thinking about technology in a completely new way.
We instinctively bond with lifelike machines, naming them, feeling for them, even protecting them, and Dr. Kate Darling has spent over a decade studying why, and what it reveals about us. In this fascinating keynote she explores the emotional and social dimensions of our relationships with robots and AI, and the profound questions they raise about empathy, connection, and identity. Part science, part philosophy, and endlessly surprising, it is a talk that stays with audiences long after they leave the room.
As robots and AI move into our workplaces, homes, and hospitals, the hardest questions aren’t technical, they’re ethical. Dr. Kate Darling, one of the world’s leading robot ethicists, helps leaders navigate them: how to design and deploy intelligent machines responsibly, where the real risks lie (and where they don’t), and how law, policy, and business need to evolve. Clear-eyed and refreshingly free of hype, it is an essential briefing for anyone making decisions about AI and robotics.
Headlines about robots and AI swing between utopia and apocalypse, and both distract us from what actually matters. Dr. Kate Darling cuts through the noise to give audiences a grounded, evidence-based picture of where these technologies really are, where they’re genuinely heading, and what leaders and organizations should focus on now. Drawing on frontier research from MIT and the RAI Institute, she replaces anxiety with understanding and gives audiences a practical, human-centered way to think about the age of intelligent machines.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Kate Darling
Why Kate Darling?
Booking Dr. Kate Darling brings audiences one of the world’s leading authorities on robot ethics and the human side of AI, and one of the most engaging speakers in the field. An MIT Media Lab research scientist who leads the Robotics, Ethics, and Society team at the RAI Institute, she combines deep expertise in law, economics, and robotics with a warm, witty, genuinely surprising stage presence, often bringing live robots into the room. She cuts through the hype and the doom to give audiences a grounded, optimistic, and deeply human understanding of our future with intelligent machines. She is ideal for events on robotics, AI, technology ethics, innovation, and the future. To bring Dr. Kate Darling to your next event, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
Who is Kate Darling?
Dr. Kate Darling is an American-Swiss research scientist, author, and one of the world’s foremost experts on robot ethics and human-robot interaction. She is a research scientist at the MIT Media Lab and leads the Robotics, Ethics, and Society team at the Robotics and AI (RAI) Institute (formerly the Boston Dynamics AI Institute). With a background in law and economics and a doctorate of sciences from ETH Zurich, she has spent more than a decade studying how people emotionally and socially connect with lifelike machines, and the legal, ethical, and policy questions these relationships raise. She is the author of The New Breed, has been named to the Thinkers50 Radar, won the American Bar Association’s Mark T. Banner Award, and is a frequent voice in the New Yorker, the Guardian, the BBC, WIRED, and beyond.
What is Kate Darling’s book “The New Breed” about?
The New Breed: What Our History with Animals Reveals about Our Future with Robots is Kate Darling’s acclaimed book, and it offers a bold, hopeful reframing of our relationship with technology. Much of the public conversation about robots and AI fixates on a single fear: that machines will replace us and take our jobs. Darling argues the opposite. Looking back at the long, varied history of how humans have lived and worked alongside animals, as partners, helpers, and companions rather than equals or replacements, she suggests that this is a far better model for how we’ll integrate robots into our lives. Robots, she contends, are likely to supplement our own skills and relationships rather than substitute for them, and treating them with a degree of humanity will actually serve us better socially, legally, and ethically. Along the way, the book explores the surprising ways we already bond with machines and the new questions that raises about law, policy, and even our understanding of ourselves. It’s a deeply original, optimistic analysis that has resonated widely, and it forms the backbone of her most popular keynotes.
What topics does robotics speaker Kate Darling cover?
Dr. Kate Darling speaks on the future of robots and humans (The New Breed), robots, AI, and what it means to be human, the ethics of intelligent machines, and the real impact of robotics and AI beyond the hype. Her keynotes suit events on robotics, AI, technology and ethics, innovation, and the future, for corporate, academic, and general audiences. To book Dr. Kate Darling as a speaker, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
How to book Kate Darling as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Kate Darling as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Kate Darling's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for Kate Darling or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is Kate Darling speaking fee?
Kate Darling speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire Kate Darling to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book Kate Darling.
How can I contact Kate Darling?
We only work with Kate Darling on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Kate Darling and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Kate Darling speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact Kate Darling for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book Kate Darling for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Kate Darling is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Kate Darling for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
