Using automated systems to avoid the need for human discretion in government contexts – a scenario former Institute for Practical Ethics postdoctoral scholars Jacob Sparks and Athmeya Jayaram call ‘rule by automation’ – can help us achieve the ideal of a free and equal society.

Published January 2022 in Moral Philosophy and Politics, Sparks and Jayaram draw on relational theories of freedom and equality to explain how rule by automation is a more complete realization of the rule of law, and why thinkers in these traditions have strong reasons to support it.

"Relational theories are based on the absence of human domination and hierarchy, which automation helps us achieve. Nevertheless, there is another understanding of relational theories where what matters is the presence of valuable relationships with those in power," they write. "Exploring this further might help us see when and why we should accept human discretion."
Daniel Trusilo is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. He is researching the practical application of ethics to autonomous systems with a focus on robotics developed for humanitarian and conflict environments.
Trusilo
As we begin preparation to host another set of scholars, we'll take a look back at where some of our promising postdoc and Ph.D. fellow researchers are today.
Craig Callender, Practical Ethics co-director, serves on the council's Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science.
Virtual event, March 31 | 4 p.m. “Radically Re-examining ‘Modernity’ by Developing a Philosophy that Focuses on Interactions Between Technoscience and Social Structure,” by Kyoto Prize laureate Bruno Latour and introduced by Practical Ethics co-director John H. Evans.
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The Working Group on Data Analytic Governance and Accountability currently has four events scheduled during spring quarter, from April 4 to May 27. Guest speakers include Frank Pasquale, Anna Lauren Hoffman, Julie Cohen and Kadija Ferryman.