Shannon Vallor

Professor

Biography

Background

Prof. Shannon Vallor is the Baillie Gifford Chair in the Ethics of Data and Artificial Intelligence at the Edinburgh Futures Institute (EFI) at the University of Edinburgh, where she is also appointed in Philosophy. She is Co-Director of the Centre for Technomoral Futures in EFI, and Co-Director of the BRAID (Bridging Responsible AI Divides) programme, funded by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council. Professor Vallor's research explores how new technologies, especially AI, robotics, and data science, reshape human moral character, habits, and practices. Her work includes advising policymakers and industry on the ethical design and use of AI. She is a standing member of the One Hundred Year Study of Artificial Intelligence (AI100) and serves on the Oversight Board of the Ada Lovelace Institute. Professor Vallor received the 2015 World Technology Award in Ethics from the World Technology Network, the 2022 Covey Award from the International Association of Computing and Philosophy, and the University of Edinburgh's 2024 Chancellor's Award for Research. She is a former Visiting Researcher and AI Ethicist at Google. She is the author of the book Technology and the Virtues: A Philosophical Guide to a Future Worth Wanting (Oxford University Press, 2016) and The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking (Oxford University Press, 2024).

Responsibilities & affiliations

Co-Director, Centre for Technomoral Futures (Edinburgh Futures Institute) www.technomoralfutures.uk

Co-Director, BRAID (Bridging Responsible AI Divides) www.braiduk.org

Undergraduate teaching

Ethics and Politics of Data (EFIE08004)

Postgraduate teaching

Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (PHIL11186)

Philosophy and Engineering (PGEE11205)

Ethics of Robotics and Autonomous Systems (EFIE11163)

Ethical Data Futures (EFIE11027)

Current PhD students supervised

Andrew Zelny

Yuxin Liu

Bhargavi Ganesh

Jacqueline Rowe

Harry McAndrew

Colton Botta

 

 

Past PhD students supervised

Alexander Mussgnug

Mara Neijzen

Beba Cibralic (external, Georgetown University)

Research summary

Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Data Ethics, Ethics of Automation, Intercultural Digital Ethics, Applied Virtue Ethics, Philosophy of Science

Past research interests

Classical phenomenology (Husserl, Merleau-Ponty), philosophy of mind and language

Affiliated research centres

Project activity

BRAID: Bridging Responsible AI Divides

UKRI/AHRC

Principal Investigator and Co-Director, with Prof Ewa Luger (Edinburgh College of Art)

BRAID is a 6-year, £15.9 million national research programme funded by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), led by the University of Edinburgh in partnership with the Ada Lovelace Institute and the BBC. BRAID is dedicated to integrating Arts, Humanities and Social Science research more fully into the Responsible AI ecosystem, as well as bridging the divides between academic, industry, policy and regulatory work on responsible AI.

Current project grants

UKRI BRAID (Bridging Responsible AI Divides) Programme (Principal Investigator) 2022-2025 https://www.braiduk.org

Past project grants

UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Programme, Responsibility Node (Principal Investigator), 2022-2024 https://gow.epsrc.ukri.org/NGBOViewGrant.aspx?GrantRef=EP/W011654/1
UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems Programme, Governance and Regulation Node (co-Investigator), 2020-2024 https://governance.tas.ac.uk/
Summer Institute in Technology Ethics (Principal Investigator), Templeton World Charity Foundation, 2020-2023 www.site2022.org

This article was published on