Professor Vincent Conitzer

Professor of Computer Science and Philosophy; Head of Technical AI Engagement, Institute for Ethics in AI; Visiting Fellow, Pembroke College

I am an AI researcher, primarily a computer scientist but I also work in economic theory and philosophy. My main appointment is in the US (currently at Duke University, soon at Carnegie Mellon University), but I have a part-time (summers) appointment at the Institute for Ethics in AI, where I serve as Head of Technical AI Engagement.

This is an exciting time to be an AI researcher. AI is being used to make scientific and engineering breakthroughs. AI is also already having significant impact on how society functions, and we can expect this impact to grow rapidly. Finally, AI is forcing us to rethink the nature of being human. To ensure a good future, it is important that AI research is concerned not merely with increasing the capabilities of AI, but also with the pursuit of beneficial outcomes. This requires engagement with many other disciplines, and I enjoy learning from my colleagues in those disciplines.

I first stayed at Pembroke when I visited Oxford as an examiner for a viva, back in 2019. While it was very quiet then (late August / early September), I instantly loved it. I am very excited to be a part of the College now and look forward to seeing it when it is more lively!

Detailed Biography

Vincent Conitzer is the Kimberly J. Jenkins Distinguished University Professor of New Technologies and Professor of Computer Science, Professor of Economics, and Professor of Philosophy at Duke University. He is also Head of Technical AI Engagement at the Institute for Ethics in AI, and Professor of Computer Science and Philosophy, at the University of Oxford. He received Ph.D. (2006) and M.S. (2003) degrees in Computer Science from Carnegie Mellon University, and an A.B. (2001) degree in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University. Conitzer works on artificial intelligence (AI). Much of his work has focused on AI and game theory, for example designing algorithms for the optimal strategic placement of defensive resources. More recently, he has started to work on AI and ethics: how should we determine the objectives that AI systems pursue, when these objectives have complex effects on various stakeholders?

Conitzer has received the 2021 ACM/SIGAI Autonomous Agents Research Award, the Social Choice and Welfare Prize, a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the IJCAI Computers and Thought Award, an NSF CAREER award, the inaugural Victor Lesser dissertation award, an honorable mention for the ACM dissertation award, and several awards for papers and service at the AAAI and AAMAS conferences. He has also been named a Guggenheim Fellow, a Sloan Fellow, a Kavli Fellow, a Bass Fellow, an ACM Fellow, a AAAI Fellow, and one of AI's Ten to Watch. He has served as program and/or general chair of the AAAI, AAMAS, AIES, COMSOC, and EC conferences. Conitzer and Preston McAfee were the founding Editors-in-Chief of the ACM Transactions on Economics and Computation (TEAC).