Aimee van Wynsberghe is a Canadian ethicist specializing in the ethics of robotics and artificial intelligence. She holds the Alexander von Humboldt Professorship for Applied Ethics of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Bonn in Germany, where she also directs the Institute for Science and Ethics (IWE) and founded the Bonn Sustainable AI Lab. Van Wynsberghe is president of the Foundation for Responsible Robotics, an organization she co-founded in 2015 to promote ethical design and production of robots. Her research focuses on developing ethical frameworks for care robots and advocating for sustainable and responsible AI development.
Education and early career
Born in London, Ontario, van Wynsberghe earned a bachelor's degree in cell biology from the University of Western Ontario. She then pursued graduate studies in Europe, obtaining dual master's degrees in applied ethics and bioethics from KU Leuven in Belgium and through the European Union's Erasmus Mundus program. In 2012, she received her PhD from the University of Twente in the Netherlands; her dissertation proposed an ethical framework for the use of care robots in medicine and was nominated for the Georges Giralt Award for best PhD thesis in robotics.
Van Wynsberghe began working in robotics in 2004 as a research assistant at CSTAR (Canadian Surgical Technologies and Advance Robotics). From 2014 to 2017, she served as an assistant professor at the University of Twente, focusing on robot ethics. She then became an associate professor in ethics and technology at Delft University of Technology, before being appointed as the first woman to receive an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship for Applied Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in 2020. This appointment brought her to the University of Bonn, where she took on the directorship of the Institute for Science and Ethics and established the Bonn Sustainable AI Lab.
Foundation for Responsible Robotics
In 2015, van Wynsberghe and Noel Sharkey co-founded the Foundation for Responsible Robotics (FRR), a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization advocating for ethical design and production of robots. The founders cited an urgent need for greater accountability and attention to ethics in robot design, particularly for automated jobs. As president of the FRR, van Wynsberghe organizes multi-stakeholder workshops, writes and disseminates consultation documents and reports, establishes public-private partnerships, and addresses legislative bodies within the European Union.
Academic contributions
Van Wynsberghe's research has been widely cited; according to Google Scholar, her work has over 3,800 citations and an h-index of 26. She authored the 2016 book Healthcare Robots: Ethics, Design and Implementation, which examines the current and future role of robots in healthcare and argues for imposing ethical guidelines on their use. Her work bridges Artificial intelligence ethics, Machine learning applications, and Robotics policy, often emphasizing the need for sustainable AI practices.
Awards and honors
Van Wynsberghe has received numerous accolades. In 2015, she was awarded an NWO Veni Personal Research Grant to study the ethical design of care robots. In 2017, she appeared on Robohub's "25 Women in Robotics You Need to Know About" list. The following year, she was listed among the British Interactive Media Association's "100 AI Influencers Worth Following" and received the Dutch L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowship. In 2020, she was awarded the Alexander von Humboldt Professorship. Since 2022, she has been a member of the Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur in Mainz and serves on the advisory board of the Konrad Zuse Schools of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (DAAD). Her project "Desirable Digitalisation. Rethinking AI for Just and Sustainable Futures," in collaboration with the University of Cambridge, is funded by Stiftung Mercator with €3.8 million.
Media and public engagement
Van Wynsberghe has been featured in various media outlets. In January 2018, she was interviewed for a Raddington Report article titled "Robot Ethics, Robot Equality." In June 2018, she appeared on BBC's Today program and was interviewed by Seth Adler at the Artificial Intelligence & Intelligent Automation Network. She has spoken at major international events, including Web Summit, the European Investment Bank Global Investment Forum, AI for Good's Global Summit, and the Economist's Innovation Summit. In 2017, she was interviewed for the VPRO documentary Robo Sapiens, which explores humanity's future with robots. In 2019, she discussed the challenges of embedding ethical frameworks into AI systems with Forbes, which later featured her in its 2020 list of women leading the 21st-century AI movement.
Sustainable AI advocacy
Van Wynsberghe is a prominent advocate for sustainable AI, a concept that considers the environmental, social, and economic impacts of AI development. She hosts the Sustainable AI Conference in Bonn every other year, bringing together researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders to discuss how AI can be developed responsibly. Her work emphasizes that AI ethics must go beyond abstract principles to address concrete issues such as energy consumption, resource use, and long-term societal well-being.
Memberships and advisory roles
Van Wynsberghe serves on several boards and committees focused on technology ethics. She was appointed to the European Commission's High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence (AI HLG) and is on the board of the Institute for Accountability in the Digital Age and the Netherlands Alliance for AI (ALLAI Netherlands). She also sits on the advisory board of the AI & Intelligent Automation Network. Through these roles, she contributes to shaping AI policy at national and international levels, often collaborating with organizations like OpenAI and Google DeepMind on ethical guidelines.
Legacy and impact
Van Wynsberghe's work has significantly influenced the field of AI ethics, particularly in the context of healthcare robotics and sustainable AI. Her interdisciplinary approach, combining biology, philosophy, and technology, has helped establish ethics as a core consideration in AI development. As a leading female figure in a predominantly male field, she has also inspired many women to pursue careers in AI and robotics. Her ongoing research and advocacy continue to shape how AI is designed, deployed, and regulated worldwide.