Mark Coeckelbergh is a leading international philosopher of technology and a well-known expert on the ethical, social, and political implications of artificial intelligence, robotics, and digital technologies. He is widely recognized for his contributions to global debates on AI, robotics, climate, and responsible innovation.
He has served in various leadership roles within major research networks and has been actively involved in interdisciplinary collaborations that bring together philosophy, social science, engineering, and public policy. He is also known for his public philosophy and impact-oriented research.
Coeckelbergh is currently Professor of Philosophy of Media and Technology at the University of Vienna, where he is also Circle U Chair for Artificial Intelligence, and holds the ERA Chair at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences, where he leads the Center of Environmental and Technology Ethics (CETE-P). He is a member of the United Nation’s Independent International Scientific Panel on AI.
Over the course of his career, Coeckelbergh has held academic positions in Belgium, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Austria, and Sweden, including Professor of Technology and Social Responsibility at De Montfort University in the UK, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Education at the University of Vienna, Managing Director of the 3TU.Centre for Ethics and Technology in the Netherlands, and Guest Professor at the University of Uppsala. He was the President of the international Society for Philosophy and Technology (SPT) and has many advisory roles for academic journals, centres, and projects, for example AI & Society and Cambridge Forum on AI.
His research focuses on ethical and political questions surrounding AI and automation, including questions about responsibility, freedom, justice, democracy, and power. He is particularly known for developing relational approaches to technology ethics.
Coeckelbergh is the author of numerous influential publications (H index 66) including articles on AI and responsibility, global AI ethics, AI and the Global South, and intercultural robotics, and widely used books such as AI Ethics (MIT Press), Introduction to Philosophy of Technology (Oxford University Press), The Political Philosophy of AI (Polity Press), and Why AI Undermines Democracy and What To Do About It (Polity Press). His recent books are translated in many languages.
In addition to his academic work, Coeckelbergh has extensive experience advising policymakers and international organizations, for example in the context of the European Commission (High-Level Expert Group on AI), UNESCO (expert council of the Austrian UNESCO Commission), the Austrian Council on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, and the Belgian Federal Advisory Committee on Data and Artificial Intelligence. Professor Coeckelbergh is much in demand as a speaker at international academic conferences, high-level policy forums, and interdisciplinary workshops. He is committed to fostering dialogue between cultures, disciplines, and stakeholders, and to ensuring that ethical reflection keeps pace with rapid technological change. Across his work, he advocates for technological development that serves human well-being, environmental welfare, democratic values, and the public good. He also promotes global governance of AI. With his advisory work and invited talks across the world, he helps to shape global conversations on how AI and digital technologies can be governed in an ethically responsible way.
Mark Coeckelbergh 