Speaker
Dr. Kristine Ketel
I focus on the human in Human-Computer Interactions
The Human Side of AI: Emotion, Ethics & Relational Technology
People leave the room seeing the systems around them a little more clearly than when they walked in.
I help organizations understand how AI, automation, and emerging technologies shape trust, relationships, decision-making, and human behavior.
I speak about AI, ethics, and the emotional frontier of human-technology relationships: how people form genuine bonds with robots and AI companions, why those relationships matter, and what it means when artificial presence fills gaps left by unreliable or absent human connection. My talks translate complex, fast-moving ideas into practical insights, without losing the nuance that makes those ideas worth exploring.
I work with academic institutions, professional organizations, and community groups. Each engagement is built for the audience, the moment, and the event's requirements.
Featured Talks
- When Robots Become Relational
- Introducing the Personified Affective Transference Model (PATM)
Charles E. Shanklin Colloquium, 2025 - More Than a Machine
- Understanding the Emotional Bonds between Humans and Robots
Three Minute Thesis (3MT), Third Place, BGSU, 2025 - Who Programmed This?
- Examining Trust, Betrayal, and Designed Intimacy in They Cloned Tyrone
Black Pop Culture Symposium, 2026 - Beyond the Binary
- Generative AI and Equity in Higher Education
Teaching & Learning Summit, 2025
In the Room
Each talk is built for the room, from the content to how ideas are framed, introduced, and carried throughout.
Academic audiences leave with new theoretical frameworks.
Community audiences leave with a clearer understanding of how emerging technologies affect everyday life.
Professional audiences leave with practical tools for navigating AI adoption, trust, and decision-making.
Academic audiences leave with new theoretical frameworks.
Community audiences leave with a clearer understanding of how emerging technologies affect everyday life.
Professional audiences leave with practical tools for navigating AI adoption, trust, and decision-making.
Questions I Explore
Technology changes more than systems. It changes relationships, institutions, expectations, and how we understand ourselves.
My presentations explore questions such as:
- Why do people form emotional bonds with AI systems?
- What happens when trust in technology exceeds its capabilities?
- How do AI systems reproduce or amplify existing inequalities?
- What are the human consequences of surveillance and data collection?
- How should we think about care, responsibility, and ethics in emerging technologies?
- How can leaders make better decisions in increasingly automated environments?
Talks are tailored to the audience, the moment, and the goals of the event.
For a complete list of recent presentations and speaking engagements, visit the presentation archive.
Book or Inquire
I'm available for keynotes, invited lectures, workshops, and panel appearances at conferences, universities, and professional events.
If your event needs a speaker who takes both the ideas and the audience seriously, I'd love to hear about it. Tell me about your event and what you're hoping the audience gains.
To inquire about availability, fees, and fit: 📧 Dr_Ketel@proton.me.
I respond to all serious inquiries.
Ph.D., American Culture Studies, Bowling Green State University
M.A., Liberal Arts, St. John's College Great Books Program
M.A., Liberal Arts, St. John's College Great Books Program
B.A., Communication, University of Toledo