About the Institute | Ethics in AI

The Institute for Ethics in AI was launched in 2021 thanks to a donation from Stephen A. Schwarzman.

In collaboration with technologists, government and industry partners and humanities scholars, our researchers are leading efforts to co-design appropriate governance and regulatory regimes for AI; to embed ethical considerations at the earliest possible stages of technological development; and to explore how humans and AI can share our human world.

The Institute is part of the Faculty of Philosophy and has its headquarters in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities at the University of Oxford.

Our mission

Every day brings more examples of the ethical challenges posed by AI, from face-recognition to voter profiling, from brain-machine interfaces to weaponised drones and the future of employment. Philosophers made a major contribution to the development of medical ethics 40 years ago. The Institute aims to make a similar contribution to the development of AI ethics now.

Our mission is to carry out world-leading interdisciplinary research – across philosophy, law, social science and computer science – on AI ethics, including issues of safety and governance, to present our research in accessible form so as to enhance public understanding of the opportunities and challenges presented by AI and to connect our research to government, business and the third sector to make a real difference in the world beyond the academy.

In offering independent, informed perspectives on AI – spanning multiple disciplines but anchored in philosophy and humane learning – we are meeting an essential need in a democratic society.

Our research

Our research explores the ethical and philosophical challenges presented by AI across themes such as human rights, governance, health and care, the family and the philosophical foundations of AI, including the similarities and differences between human and artificial intelligence.

We also produce ethically informed apps and open-source code, actively shaping the future of AI as well as theorising about it. Findings are shared through academic publications, blogs and white papers, which present in-depth analysis, accessible short-form content and practical recommendations.

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Our events

Oxford is where the world comes to talk, so bringing people together is a key priority at the Institute for Ethics in AI. Our regular events convene world leaders in philosophy, technology, governance and the third sector around our research priorities, In so doing we provide a space in which high-level stakeholders from across different fields can meet and exchange ideas. Through these events and through a variety of other media – podcasts, blogs, white papers and our social media channels – we carry our thinking beyond the academy to where it is most needed, to policymakers, industry – both producers and consumers of AI – and the general public.

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Our impact

By connecting us with world leaders beyond the academy, in government, industry, the third sector and the arts, the Accelerator Fellowship Programme creates new pathways to impact for our research.

Through high-profile collaborations, international dialogues on digital rights and public-facing initiatives – including partnerships with the BBC and global forums – as well as fellows’ contributions to policy, media and cultural conversations shaping responsible AI, the programme actively enhances the quality, reach, relevance and influence of public discourse.

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Philosophers have been thinking about the human good and the nature of human mindedness for centuries, but the very rapid development of AI has focused the world’s attention on these questions like never before. This really is our ‘ethics moment’. The Institute is ideally placed to seize this moment so technical brilliance and the deep culture of the humanities can together speak to the most urgent questions facing humanity today.
Professor Edward Harcourt MBE, Director of the Institute for Ethics in AI