Cynthia Breazeal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cynthia Breazeal
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| Born | November 15, 1967 Albuquerque, New Mexico, US
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| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of California, Santa Barbara (B.S., EECS, 1989) MIT (S.M., 1993; Sc.D., 2000) |
| Known for | Robotics, Jibo, and K-12 AI literacy |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Computer science, robotics |
| Doctoral advisor | Rodney Brooks |
Cynthia Breazeal is an American scientist and business owner who works with AI and robotics. She is a leader in creating social robots and studying how humans and robots interact. She helped start a company called Jibo in 2012. This company made friendly robots for families to use at home.
Today, Cynthia Breazeal is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She leads the Personal Robots Group at the MIT Media Lab. She also helps lead digital learning at MIT and directs the MIT RAISE Initiative. Her work explores how we can live with AI every day. She is also a big leader in teaching young people about AI.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Cynthia Breazeal's parents were both computer scientists. This meant she learned about computers and engineering from a young age. She earned her first degree in electrical and computer engineering in 1989. She then went to MIT for her master's and doctoral degrees.
In 1997, NASA landed a robot on Mars. This made her wonder why robots were not part of our daily lives. This question inspired her to create the world's first social robot, named Kismet. This started her work in the field of social robotics.
Cynthia Breazeal developed Kismet as part of her studies. Kismet was designed to show emotions and interact with people. It explored how humans and robots could work together. Kismet and other robots she helped create are on display at the MIT Museum.
Cynthia Breazeal's Work at MIT
Cynthia Breazeal is a professor at MIT. She started and leads the Personal Robots Group. She has written many books and papers about AI and robots. Her work at MIT looks at how robots can interact with people naturally. This includes using things like eye contact, emotions, and body language.
She has studied how people interact with robots over a long time. She found that building a good relationship with a robot can help people. For example, it can help with health, wellness, and learning. Cynthia Breazeal's main goal is to help people live better lives with AI. She wants robots to help people reach their goals, especially when they need ongoing support.
In 2021, she helped start the MIT RAISE Initiative. This program explores how AI can be used creatively and ethically. It focuses on teaching students from kindergarten to high school about AI.
In 2022, Cynthia Breazeal became the dean for digital learning at MIT. In this role, she helps improve how people learn online. She looks for new ways to use technology to make digital learning better.
Social Robots and the Personal Robots Group
Early Robot Creations
One of Cynthia Breazeal's first robots was Leonardo. This robot was a follow-up to Kismet. Wired magazine called Kismet one of the "50 Best Robots Ever" in 2006. Leonardo helped researchers study how robots could learn from humans. This included learning by copying actions or being taught.
Another robot she created was Nexi. Time magazine named Nexi one of the 50 Best Inventions of 2008. Nexi was a mobile robot that could move and interact socially. It helped explore more complex ways for humans and robots to work as a team.
Breazeal also helped create a robotic flower garden called Cyberflora. This art installation was shown at a museum in 2003.
Her Personal Robots Group at the MIT Media Lab has created many real-world robot designs. These projects cover topics like education, health, and how robots can understand emotions. Autom was a robot coach for diet and exercise. Research showed Autom was better than a computer at keeping people engaged. The Huggable robot was designed to help children in hospitals. It supported their emotional needs. The Tega robot was a learning companion for young children. It helped them with language and reading skills by playing educational games. Tega helped children improve their skills and also encouraged curiosity and creativity.
AI and Education for Kids
Recently, Cynthia Breazeal's work has focused on AI and education. Through MIT's RAISE initiative, she has become a global leader in teaching AI literacy to all children. She wants RAISE to teach students from elementary to high school about using AI creatively and ethically. They offer free resources for classrooms and teacher training.
MIT RAISE uses a teaching method called "computational action." This method helps students think critically, work in teams, and solve problems creatively. As part of this, MIT RAISE created the MIT FutureMakers program in 2021. This free summer program teaches high school and early college students how to use AI to make positive changes in their communities.
In the same year, MIT RAISE launched "Day of AI." This program aims to make "AI literacy for everyone." They created free AI lessons and tools to help students learn by doing. They also provide training for teachers. So far, tens of thousands of teachers and over a million students have learned about AI literacy. This has happened in 50 U.S. states and 170 countries.
Cynthia Breazeal has also written papers about the good and bad sides of AI. She has written about how AI can affect career paths for students. She also wrote a guide for the government on how to use AI properly in education.
Industry Work
Jibo, Inc.
On July 16, 2014, Cynthia Breazeal started a successful fundraising campaign for Jibo. Jibo was a personal assistant robot marketed as the world's first family robot. She was the chief scientist and chief experience officer for the company. Jibo raised a lot of money, about $70 million.
Jibo was the first consumer robot to combine speech recognition and machine vision. It could identify people and their movements. It also had an appealing personality and could turn to look at the user. Jibo was also the first personal robot to use these features to perform many different tasks.
Jibo was released in November 2017. The robot was made to be a helpful friend. It could bring "content to life" in new ways, beyond just flat screens. Jibo was designed for fun social experiences like storytelling and games. It also had practical skills. For example, it could be an interactive photographer. It could recognize people and give them personalized news and weather reports. It could also control smart home devices and play music.
Jibo generally received good reviews for its new user experience and likable personality. However, it offered fewer features than other smart speakers like Amazon Alexa and Google Home. These other devices also cost less. The company could not raise more money, and in March 2020, another company bought Jibo Inc.
Cynthia Breazeal returned to the MIT Media Lab in 2018. She continued to use the Jibo platform to develop new AI abilities. Her research group has published many studies using Jibo in homes, senior communities, and schools. She has shown that robots can be helpful partners. They can help children create stories and make parent-child interactions richer. Robots can also help improve mental wellness and encourage social interaction among older adults. Her work shows that a robot's companionship and physical presence can lead to better and longer-lasting results for people.
Awards and Recognition
- Cynthia Breazeal was a consultant for the 2001 movie A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
- In 2003, MIT's Technology Review named her one of the top 100 innovators under 35.
- She was a finalist for the National Design Award in Communication in 2003.
- She received the 2008 Gilbreth Lectures Award.
- Her Nexi robot was named one of Time magazine's Best Inventions of 2008.
- In 2014, Fortune magazine recognized her as one of the Most Promising Women Entrepreneurs.
- She received the 2014 L'Oreal USA Women in Digital NEXT Generation Award.
- She received the 2014 George R. Stibitz Computer & Communications Pioneer Award for her work in social robotics.
- In 2015, Entrepreneur magazine named her one of the Women to Watch.
- Jibo won a 2025 Core77 Design Award.
- Jibo was featured on the cover of Time magazine's 25 Best Inventions of 2017.
- In 2020, she was elected a AAAI Fellow by the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.
- Forbes included her in their 2023 "50 Over 50" list.
- She received the 2024 $50K Robotics Medal for Pioneering Women in Robotics.
- She was announced as a 2024 fellow to the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
- She was named an IEEE Senior Member in 2025.
Selected Works
Books
- Breazeal, Cynthia (2002). Designing Sociable Robots. Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-02510-8.
Selected Articles and Papers
- Brooks, Rodney A.; Breazeal, Cynthia; Marjanović, Matthew; Scassellati, Brian; Williamson, Matthew M. (1999). "The Cog Project: Building a Humanoid Robot".
- Rahwan, Iyad; Cebrian, Manuel; Obradovich, Nick; Bongard, Josh; Bonnefon, Jean-François; Breazeal, Cynthia; et al. (2019). "Machine behaviour". Nature.
- Breazeal, Cynthia; Rai, Arun; Ramesh, Balasubramaniam; Chen, Liwei; Long, Yuan; Aria, Andrea; Loi, Hao; Torralba, Antonio; Bernstein, Jeremy; Reich, Justin; Klopfer, Eric; Abelson, Hal; Westerman, George; Bosch, Christina (2024). "Opportunities, Issues, and Challenges for Generative AI in Fostering Equitable Pathways in Computing Education". An MIT Exploration of Generative AI.
- Klopfer, Eric, Justin Reich, Hal Abelson, and Cynthia Breazeal. (2024). “Generative AI and K-12 Education: An MIT Perspective.” An MIT Exploration of Generative AI.
- Chen, Huili; Kim, Yubin; Patterson, Kejia; Breazeal, Cynthia; Park, Hae Won (2025). "Social robots as conversational catalysts: Enhancing long-term human-human interaction at home". Science Robotics.
