PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Cindy Friedman

Also known as Cindy Friedman-van der Westhuizen

Cindy Friedman is a philosopher whose work studies how AI and humanlike robots shape moral relationships with people. Her early work examined ethical boundaries for social robots, android companions, and sexbots, and her 2021–2025 doctoral project studied humanlikeness in robots and AI. In 2023, she applied Ubuntu philosophy to human-robot relationships; her 2025 thesis and article examined the effects of humanoid robots on human relations and self-understanding. As of October 2026, she is an EthicEdge director, a research associate at the University of Pretoria, and an AI ethics lecturer at Stellenbosch Business School Executive Development.

Now at
EthicEdge, University of Pretoria and Stellenbosch Business School
Badges

Timeline

  1. 2018

    AI ethics honours project

    Her 2018 BA (Honours) in Philosophy asks whether artificially intelligent social robots should be used as slaves.

  2. 2019

    Ethical boundaries for android companions

    In 2019, she presents research on ethical boundaries for android companion robots from a human perspective and publishes a paper on the subject in the South African Forum for Artificial Intelligence Research proceedings.

  3. 2019–2020

    A philosophy master's on sexbots

    Her 2019–2020 Master of Arts in Philosophy investigates ethical conditions for human-sexbot interaction.

  4. 2020

    Human-robot moral relations

    In 2020, she publishes Human-Robot Moral Relations and argues that human interactants are moral patients of their own actions toward social robots.

  5. 2021–2025

    A PhD project on robot ethics

    From 2021 to 2025, she is a PhD candidate at Utrecht University in ESDiT's Ethics of Humanoid Robots project. It studies the ethics of humanlikeness in robots and AI and how this may shape ideas of human moral status.

  6. 2023

    Ubuntu and social-robot ethics

    In 2023, she publishes an AI and Ethics article that uses Ubuntu philosophy to study how humanoid robots may crowd out human relationships and affect moral development. She coauthors the 2023 chapter Social Robots and Society, which urges intercultural perspectives in social-robot ethics.

  7. March 2025

    A doctorate and humanoid-robot article

    She earns her PhD from Utrecht University in March 2025 with The Ethics of Humanoid Robots, a thesis about relating to humanoid robots as if they were human. In March 2025, she publishes Artefacts of Change, which argues that humanoid robots can transform human-technology, human-human, and human-self relations.

  8. As of October 2026

    EthicEdge director and AI ethics lecturer

    As of October 2026, she is an EthicEdge director and a research associate at the University of Pretoria. She is also an AI Ethics lecturer at Stellenbosch Business School Executive Development.

Career

  1. NowEthicEdgeDirector
  2. NowUniversity of PretoriaResearch associate
  3. NowStellenbosch Business SchoolAI Ethics lecturer

Education

  1. 2025Utrecht UniversityPhD

From the biography.

  1. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIIncludes Stellenbosch University. We estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.
  2. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Pretoria. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  3. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Utrecht University. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  4. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes Utrecht University. We estimate that Google holds the highest combined h-index at 8,016, while universities account for 73% of the deduplicated total across AI organizations.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Cindy Friedman yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Cindy Friedman | CAIR cair.org.za. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Research Publications | CAIR cair.org.za. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. ESDiT Projects – ESDIT esdit.nl. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Cindy Friedman | 4TU Ethics 4tu.nl. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Ethical concerns with replacing human relations with humanoid robots: an ubuntu perspective - Utrecht University research-portal.uu.nl. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Social Robots and Society - Utrecht University research-portal.uu.nl. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. The Ethics of Humanoid Robots - Utrecht University research-portal.uu.nl. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. Artefacts of Change: The Disruptive Nature of Humanoid Robots Beyond Classificatory Concerns - Utrecht University research-portal.uu.nl. Checked 21 October 2026.
  9. EthicEdge | Ethics of AI ethicedge.net. Checked 21 October 2026.
  10. Is AI becoming your new workplace colleague? | Suid-Kaap Forum suidkaapforum.com. Checked 21 October 2026.