Curriculum Vitae
ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT
Chairholder, UNESCO Chair in AI Ethics & Governance, IE University, 2024-present
Assistant Professor of Philosophy, IE University, 2022-present
Research Fellow, University of Oxford, 2020-2022
Institute for Ethics in AI & Wolfson College
Visiting Researcher, Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, 2019-2020
Knowledge Initiative on Organizations in Society
Postdoctoral Fellow, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, 2018-2019
Centre for Advanced Studies Justitia Amplificata
Interdisciplinary Ethics Postdoctoral Fellow, Stanford University, 2016–2018
McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society & Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (Stanford PACS)
PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT
Compass Ethics, Colorado Springs, CO, 2020–present
Director and Expert Lead, Technology and Social Impact, 2022-present
Senior Consultant, 2020-2022
Senior Associate, Principia Advisory SARL, Trelex, Switzerland, 2019–present
Program Assistant, Social Science Research Council, Brooklyn, N.Y., 2009–2010
Communications Associate, Corporate Accountability International, Boston, M.A., 2008–2009
EDUCATION
Ph.D. Princeton University, Department of Politics, June 2016
Dissertation: “Donors’ Democracy: Private Philanthropy and Political Morality”
Committee: Charles Beitz, Melissa Lane, Philip Pettit
M.A. Princeton University, Department of Politics, May 2013
Fields: Political Theory, Comparative Politics, Ethical Theory (Philosophy)
A.B. Harvard University, Department of Government, June 2008
PUBLICATIONS
Monographs
The Tyranny of Generosity: Why Philanthropy Corrupts Our Politics and How We Can Fix It. New York: Oxford University Press, 2022.
Textbooks
Certified Ethical Emerging Technologist Instructional Manual (with Linda Eggert, Marco Meyer, and Wessel Reijers). Rochester: Logical Operations, 2021.
Articles & Chapters
Lechterman, T.M. 2024. “The Perfect Politician.” In AI Morality. Edited by D. Edmonds. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lechterman, T.M., R. Jenkins, and B.J. Strawser. 2023. “#StopHateForProfit and the Ethics of Boycotting by Corporations.” Journal of Business Ethics. DOI: 10.1007/s10551-023-05415-y.
Lechterman, T.M. 2023. “‘That the Earth Belongs in Usufruct to the Living’: Intergenerational Philanthropy and the Problem of Dead-Hand Control.” In Giving in Time: New Perspectives on Temporal Considerations in Philanthropy. Edited by R. Madoff and B. Soskis, 93–116. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.
Lechterman, T.M. 2023. “Private Virtues, Public Vices: Philanthropy and Democratic Equality. By Emma Saunders-Hastings. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2022. 256p. $95.00 Cloth, $30.00 Paper.” Perspectives on Politics 21, no. 1: 336–38. DOI: 10.1017/S1537592722004078.
Lechterman, T.M. 2023. “Response to Emma Saunders-Hastings’ Review of The Tyranny of Generosity: Why Philanthropy Corrupts Our Politics and How We Can Fix It.” Perspectives on Politics 21, no. 1: 335–36. DOI: 10.1017/S1537592722003711.
Lechterman, T.M. 2022. “The Concept of Accountability in AI Ethics and Governance.” In The Oxford Handbook of AI Governance. Edited by J. Bullock, Y.C. Chen, J. Himmelreich, V. Hudson, A. Korinek, M. Young, and B. Zhang. Oxford: Oxford University Press. DOI: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197579329.013.1013.10
Lange, B., and T.M. Lechterman. 2021. “Combating Disinformation with AI: Epistemic and Ethical Challenges.” 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS), pp. 1-5. DOI: 10.1109/ISTAS52410.2021.9629122.
Lechterman, T.M. 2021. “The Potestas of Practice.” History of Political Thought, 42, no. 2: 240–51.
Véliz, C., C. Prunkl, M. Phillips-Brown, and T.M. Lechterman. 2021. “We Might Be Afraid of Black Box Algorithms.” Journal of Medical Ethics 47: 339–40. DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2021-107462.
Lechterman, T.M. 2021. “Civility’s Unfinished Revolution: Reply to John Keane.” Global Perspectives 2, no. 1: 18743. DOI: 10.1525/gp.2021.18743.
Lechterman, T.M. 2020. “The Effective Altruist’s Political Problem.” Polity 52, no. 1: 88–115. DOI: 10.1086/706867.
Lechterman, T.M. and R. Reich. 2020. “Political Theory and the Nonprofit Sector.” In The Nonprofit Sector: A Research Handbook, 3rd ed. Edited by W.W. Powell and P. Bromley, 171–91. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Lechterman, T.M. 2019. “Being Good in a World of Uncertainty: A Reply to Larry Temkin.” Journal of Practical Ethics 7, no. 1: 33–39.
Lechterman, T.M. 2019. “Review of Paul Woodruff (ed.), The Ethics of Giving: Philosophers’ Perspectives on Philanthropy.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 48, no. 5: 1110–12. DOI: 10.1177/0899764019839694.
Lechterman, T.M. 2013. “Review of Laura Valentini, Justice in a Globalized World: A Normative Framework.” Raisons Politiques 51: 167–76. DOI: 10.3917/rai.051.0169
Burd-Sharps, S., P. Guyer, T.M. Lechterman, and K. Lewis. 2012. “Proposal for the Development of a ‘Tots Index’ Using the Human Development Conceptual Framework.” In Global Child Poverty and Well-Being. Edited by Alberto Minujin and Shailen Nandy, 155–78. Bristol: Policy Press.
Burd-Sharps, S., P. Guyer, T.M. Lechterman, and K. Lewis. 2011. “The American Human Development Project: Results from Mississippi and Louisiana.” In Community Quality-of-Life Indicators: Best Cases V, vol. 3. Edited by M.J. Sirgy, R. Phillips, and D.R. Rahtz, 113–36. New York: Springer.
Lechterman, T.M. 2010. “Access to Knowledge.” In The Measure of America 2010-2011: Mapping Risks and Resilience. Edited by K. Lewis and S. Burd-Sharps, 110–51. New York: Social Science Research Council & New York University Press.
Reports & Cases
Lechterman, T.M. 2023. “Ethical Crossroads of Emerging Technologies.” IE Publishing. CSR090013-U-ENG-VXR. https://iepublishing.ie.edu/en/the-ethical-crossroads-of-emerging-technologies.
Lechterman, T.M. 2019. “Democratic Decay and Renewal Beyond the State.” Pursuit of the Common Good in the Contemporary World. Background paper.
Burd-Sharps, S., K. Lewis, P. Guyer, and T.M. Lechterman. 2010. “Twenty Years of Human Development in Six Affluent Countries: Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.” United Nations Development Programme Human Development Reports. Human Development Research Paper 2010/27.
WORKS IN PROGRESS
Lechterman, T.M., E. Saunders-Hastings, and R. Reich. “Philanthropy.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Provisionally accepted.
Lechterman, T.M. and J. Mair. “Social Enterprises as Agents of Social Justice: A Rawlsian Perspective on Institutional Capacity.” Under review.
Lechterman, T.M., B.J. Strawser, and D. Whetham. “Ethical Safeguards for Sales of Weaponizable Technology.” Under review.
Lechterman, T.M., M. Skerker, and B.J. Strawser. “Principled Discrimination in Customer Selection.” Under review.
Lechterman, T.M. and B. Lange. “Is Corporate Social Responsibility Democratically Irresponsible?” Under review.
Lechterman, T.M. “The Basic Structure and AI Governance.” Working paper.
Lechterman, T.M. “Justice and Humanity in Access to Medicine: MSF’s Rejection of Free Vaccines.” Working paper.
Lechterman, T.M. “Historical Injustice and Property-Owning Democracy.” Working paper.
SERVICE
Referee
AAAI/ACM Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Society
ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability & Transparency
AI & Society
American Political Science Review
Analysis
Ethical Perspectives
Ethics & International Affairs
Feminist Philosophy Quarterly
IEEE Technology and Society Magazine
Journal of Moral Philosophy
Journal of Political Philosophy
Journal of Politics
Moral Philosophy and Politics
Oxford Review of Economic Policy
Oxford University Press
Res Publica
Routledge
Leadership
Co-chair, Democratic Theory and Contemporary Crises Section, ECPR General Conference, 2024
Panel organizer, “Emerging Technologies, Self-Regulation, and Democratic Legitimacy,” ECPR General Conference, 2024
Co-chair, Student Program, AAAI/ACM Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Society, 2022–present
Steering Committee, ECPR Political Theory Standing Group, 2023–present
Panel organizer, “Private Action for the Public Good: Democratic Implications,” ECPR General Conference, 2022
Convener, Ethics in AI Research Seminar, University of Oxford, 2022
Co-organizer, Justitia Amplificata New Adventures in Democratic Theory Conference, 2019
Co-organizer, Princeton Graduate Conference in Political Theory, 2012 & 2013
HONORS AND AWARDS
Honorable Mention, Political Theory Prize, European Consortium for Political Research, 2023
Experienced Researcher, REVFAIL (EU H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Grant No. 823998), 2023–2024
Artificial Intelligence Journal Fund for Promoting AI Research, “6th AAAI/ACM Conference on AI, Ethics, and Society Student Program,” €3,000, 2023
Co-PI (with B.J. Strawser), “Ethical Safeguards for Sales of Weaponizable Technology,” Mercatus Center, George Mason University, $42,000, Award AIDG983718408, 2022–2023
Fritz Thyssen Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship, “The Normative Justification of Social Enterprise,” Award 40.19.0.037PH, €27,879, 2019–2020
Postgraduate Travel Fund grants, Society for Applied Philosophy, 2016, 2018, 2019
McWilliams Best Graduate Student Paper in Political Theory Award, Northeast Political Science Association, 2016
Laurance S. Rockefeller Graduate Prize Fellowship, University Center for Human Values, Princeton University, 2014–2015
Eric Firth Prize for Best Thesis on Ideals of Democracy, Department of Government, Harvard University, 2008
SELECTED PRESENTATIONS
“The Basic Structure and AI Governance,” presented at:
— ECPR General Conference, University College Dublin, Aug. 12-15, 2024
— MANCEPT Workshops, hosted virtually, Sep. 10, 2021
“Is Corporate Social Responsibility Democratically Irresponsible?” presented at:
— ECPR Political Theory Seminar, Apr. 10, 2024
— Instituto de Éticas Aplicadas, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Oct. 31, 2023
— ECPR General Conference, University of Innsbruck, Aug. 23, 2022
“Responsible Innovation with AI: Ethical Risk Forecasting,” Responsible Tech Salon, IE University, Mar. 8, 2024
“La inteligencia artificial salvará la democracia o la destruirá?,” La Caixa Forum, Barcelona, Spain, Jan. 30, 2024
“Can AI Enhance Democratic Citizenship? The Promises and Perils of Democracy Bots,” presented at:
— High-Level Policy Dialogue on the Democratic Challenges of Artificial Intelligence, European University Institute, May 22, 2023
— Digital Democracy Workshop, Digital Society Initiative, University of Zürich, Oct. 28, 2022
“Can AI Save Democracy?” PPLE Talk Series, IE University, Nov. 22, 2022
Book launch of The Tyranny of Generosity: Why Philanthropy Corrupts Our Politics and How We Can Fix It, presented at:
— Stanford PACS Book Festival, Stanford University, Apr. 1, 2022
— Ethics in AI Colloquium, University of Oxford, Nov. 18, 2021
“#StopHateForProfit and the Ethics of Boycotting by Corporations,” presented at:
— Geneva Colloquium in Political Theory, University of Geneva, Mar. 1, 2022
— St Cross Special Ethics Seminar, University of Oxford, Feb. 10, 2022
— 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Ethics in Engineering, Science and Technology, Waterloo, Canada, Oct. 28, 2021
“Combating Disinformation with AI: Epistemic and Ethical Challenges,” 2021 IEEE International Symposium on Ethics in Engineering, Science and Technology, Waterloo, Canada, Oct. 31, 2021
“The Concept of Accountability in AI Ethics and Governance,” Society for Philosophy of Technology annual conference, hosted virtually, June 29, 2021
“What Justifies Social Enterprise?” Society for Business Ethics Annual Meeting, hosted virtually, Aug. 5, 2020
“Procedure and Substance in the Ethics of Technology,” presented at:
— Division of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Feb. 18, 2020
— Hoover Chair, Université Catholique de Louvain, Jan. 22, 2020
“Political Theory and the Nonprofit Sector,” Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) annual conference, San Diego, CA, Nov. 23, 2019
“The Democratic Bases of Milton Friedman’s Corporate Misanthropy,” presented at:
— Zicklin Workshop on Normative Business Ethics, Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania, Oct. 25, 2019
— Political Philosophy Research Colloquium, Technical University of Munich, July 8, 2019
— 10th Braga Meeting on Ethics and Political Philosophy, University of Minho (Portugal), June 13, 2019
“Digital Technology’s Democratic Deficits,” New Adventures in Democratic Theory conference, Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, July 5, 2019
“By Whose Hands? Democratic Authority and Responsibility for Social Progress,” Law & Philosophy Group, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, June 17, 2019
“What Can Political Philosophy Teach Us about Responsible Innovation?” Brightlands Institute for Smart Services, Maastricht University, Heerlen, Netherlands, June 5, 2019
“Famine, Affluence, and Democracy? The Politics of Effective Altruism,” Center for Critical Democracy Studies, American University of Paris, Feb. 25, 2019
“Of Sovereignty and Saints: When Is the Private Provision of Public Goods Illegitimate?” presented at:
— Practical Philosophy Colloquium, Free University Berlin, Apr. 15, 2019
— Political Theory Colloquium, Goethe University Frankfurt, Nov. 20, 2018
— American Political Science Association annual meeting, Boston, MA, Aug. 31, 2018
— International Society for Third-Sector Research biennial conference, University of Amsterdam, July 13, 2018
PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT
Articles
“The Tyranny of Generosity.” Oxford Philosophy Magazine 13 (2022): 18–20.
“The Tyranny of Generosity and How We Can Tame It.” HistPhil. Mar. 30, 2022.
“Spotify’s Spotty Platform Rules Won’t Stop Misinformation” (with B. Lange). Medium. Mar. 9, 2022.
“So You Say You Want a Boycott.” Compass Ethics Journal, Feb. 21, 2022.
“Philanthropists Seeking to Fix Big Problems Must Tread Carefully – Here’s How They Can Make Their Efforts More Compatible with Democracy.” The Conversation. Jan. 3, 2022.
“Corporate Giving: A Tyranny of Generosity?” Compass Ethics Journal, Nov. 22, 2021.
“Will AI Make Democracy Obsolete?” Public Ethics Blog, Stockholm Centre for Ethics of War and Peace. Aug. 4, 2021.
“Political Theory and the Nonprofit Sector” (with Rob Reich), HistPhil, Apr. 24, 2020.
“Digital Technology’s Democratic Deficits,” Blog of the APA, Mar. 5, 2020.
“The Ethics of #DeleteFacebook,” Blog of the APA, Dec. 4, 2018.
“One Big Problem with How Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos are Spending a Small Share of Their Fortune,” The Conversation, Sep. 19, 2018. Republished by Salon.
“An Ethical Guide to Responsible Giving,” The Conversation, Nov. 28, 2017. Republished by Chicago Tribune, among others.
“Why Harvey Weinstein Can’t Redeem Himself through Charity Alone,” The Conversation, Oct. 16, 2017.
“What Jeff Bezos Gets Wrong (and Right) with his Populist Philanthropy,” The Conversation, June 26, 2017. Republished by Salon, Business Insider, SFGate, and others.
“Is Populist Criticism of Philanthropy Justified?” HistPhil, May 11, 2017.
Interviews and Media Coverage
Collins, K. “Theodore Lechterman on Automating the Democratic Process.” Virtual Sentiments (podcast). Mar. 29, 2023.
Gunderman, R. “In defense of generosity.” Law and Liberty. Oct. 25, 2022.
Visram, T. “The truth about Elon Musk, Sam Bankman-Fried, and effective altruism.” Fast Company. Sep. 14, 2022.
Srinath, I. “Two books explore both sides of the philanthropy debate.” Alliance Magazine. May 31, 2022.
Hartmann, Michael E. “Philanthropy’s Corruption of Politics, and vice versa.” The Giving Review. Jan. 10, 2022.
Clark, Becky. “The Man with the Rawlsian Tattoo.” Oxford Review of Books. Winter 2021.
Cimmino, Nicoletta, “Philosoph: «Nicht Probleme lösen, sondern Veränderung fördern»,” Echo der Zeit, SRF Radio (Switzerland), Dec. 8, 2020.
Larsen, Dag Eivind Undheim, “Kunstdonorer i hardt vær,” Klassekampen (Norway), Aug. 17, 2019.
Frank, Dirk, “Philanthropie und Macht,” UniReport der Goethe-Universität, July 11, 2019, p. 16.
Sun, Rebecca, “Hollywood's #MeToo Dilemma: When Alleged Predators Also Give Generously to Charity,” Hollywood Reporter, July 11, 2019.
Varagur, Krithika, “By the Time a Natural Disaster Happens It’s Too Late to Help,” The Outline, Feb. 4, 2019.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Courses Taught
Professor, AI Ethics and Governance, IE University, Spring 2024
Professor, Ethics of Emerging Technologies, IE University, Spring 2023
Lecturer and tutor, Ethics of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology, University of Oxford, 2021–2022
Guest lecturer, Ethics of AI, Oxford AI Society, Hilary 2021
Lecturer, The Ethics and Politics of Effective Altruism, Stanford University, Spring 2018
Preceptor, Practical Ethics, Princeton University, Fall 2015
Preceptor, Global Justice, Princeton University, Spring 2014
Preceptor, Ethics and Public Policy, Princeton University, Fall 2013
Examination
BPhil Assessment & Examination, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford, HT 2022
Advising
Senior thesis advisor, IE University, 2024-present
Wolfson College Postgraduate Advisor, University of Oxford, 2021–2022
Mentor, McCoy Center for Ethics in Society Honors Program, Stanford University, 2017–2018
Mentor, Values and Public Life Certificate Program, University Center for Human Values, Princeton University, 2014–2016
MEMBERSHIPS
Academics Stand Against Poverty
American Philosophical Association
American Political Science Association
American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy
Association for Political Theory
Association for Research on Nonprofit and Voluntary Action
European Consortium for Political Research
International Society for Third-Sector Research
Philosophy, AI and Society
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Society
Society for Applied Philosophy
Society for Business Ethics
UNESCO AI Ethics Experts Without Borders
Last revised: Mar. 2024