Guy Hoffman

Guy Hoffman is a pioneer in AI and Human-Robot Interaction, presently he is the Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Cornell University. Known for creating robots with a soul, a talent Guy developed through his ground-breaking research on the social intelligence of robots, where he is exploring the ability of robots to understand and replicate human social and emotional cues. At the forefront of creating robots with human qualities such as spontaneity and improvisation, Guy is a proficient speaker on the ability of robots and humans to work creatively and collaboratively, he also delves into the long-term impacts on industry and society.

Unconventionally, Guy holds advanced degrees in multiple disciplines, with an MFA from Parsons School of Design, an MSc in Computer Science from Tel Aviv University, and a PhD from MIT in human-robot interaction. Guy began his career as a research fellow at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before moving on to work at IDC Herzliya as an assistant professor and co-director of the IDC Media Innovation Lab. In the process of conducting research for his work on robots, Guy designed the world’s first human-robot theatre performance, in addition to the first improvising human-robot Jazz duet.

Guy is highly sought after by some of the leading consumer companies for his expertise, seeking his advice on domestic robot products. His research has won the most prestigious academic awards at multiple conferences and his work as software and animation lead on the World Expo Digital Water Pavilion was recognised by TIME magazine’s Best Inventions of the Year, in addition to being featured for a title-page illustration in The New York Times. His work has featured worldwide and in popular media outlets including CNN, BBC, PBS, NBR and Comedy Central.

His innovative robotic desk lamp AUR won the 2007 IEEE International Robot Design Competition. Furthermore, he was chosen as one of Israel’s most promising researchers under 40 both in 2010 and 2012. Delivering a very well-received TED Talk on robotics, Guy’s presentation has been viewed over 3 million times and is one of the most viewed talks on robotics. As a very engaging speaker, he presents the notion that robots and humans can work collaboratively and creatively, and he discusses the long-term impacts on industry and society. One of the leading experts on AI and robotics, book Guy Hoffman now!