About

Dr. Theodore “Ted” Lechterman is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at IE University, where he researches and teaches in political philosophy and applied ethics. Recent topics of publication include the concept of accountability in AI ethics and the ethics of combatting disinformation with AI. Current research projects include the ethics of self-regulation of weaponizable technology and the ethics of democracy-enhancing robots. In addition to his work in AI, Lechterman has made contributions to business ethics and the ethics of philanthropy. He is the author of The Tyranny of Generosity: Why Philanthropy Corrupts Our Politics and How We Can Fix It (Oxford University Press, 2022) and numerous chapters and articles appearing in (e.g.) Journal of Business Ethics, Polity, Journal of Practical Ethics, and History of Political Thought. A connecting theme across his research is what makes democracy valuable and how this value applies when power is exercised by private and artificial agents. Lechterman is an Associate Researcher at the Círculo de Bellas Artes, an organizer of the AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society, and an officer of the Standing Group on Political Theory for the European Consortium for Political Research. He frequently contributes to public debates and advises organizational leaders on frontier ethical challenges in business, governance, and technology. He holds degrees from Harvard (A.B.) and Princeton (M.A., Ph.D.) and completed postdoctoral fellowships at Stanford, Goethe, Hertie, and Oxford.

Research Interests

Political Economy, Political Theory, Business, Ethics, Normative Theory, Technology

Current/Upcoming Events

Standing Groups and Research Networks

• Political Theory
• Methods of Normative Political Theory