John is an associate professor of philosophy whose work is primarily in applied or practical ethics, including the ethics of AI and emerging technologies. Much of John’s work focuses on building effective ethics oversight and integrating theoretical resources from philosophical ethics into the design and development of Machine Learning applications. He teaches courses in moral philosophy, ethics of technology, and ethics in scientific research.

John is the co-author of Building Data and AI Ethics Committees published with Accenture and Getting from Commitment to Content in AI and Data Ethics: Justice and Explainability published with the Atlantic Council. Other recent work includes contributions to the Oxford Handbook of AI Ethics on AI as a moral rights-holder and the forthcoming volume Autonomous Vehicle Ethics: Beyond the Trolley Problem.

John’s work with a collaborative team building an engineering ethics curriculum has been recognized as an Exemplary Engineering Ethics Program by the National Academy of Engineering Center for Engineering Ethics and Society. He is currently a co-PI on a National Science Foundation grant integrating ethics into the development of co-working autonomous robots in seafood processing.

Focus Areas: Responsible AI, Ethics of AI

Awards & Affiliations: Associate Director, AI and Data Ethics Initiatives – Northeastern Ethics Institute; Faculty Associate, Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard University; Faculty Associate, Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University