Research Institute for Philosophy and Technology (RIFT)
About RIFT
The Research Institute for Philosophy and Technology aims to to restore the lines of communication between philosophy, science, and technology. The goal is to bring together empirical researchers, technological innovators, and scientifically literate philosophers (and the global institutions that house them) under an umbrella research organization that can facilitate collaboration between those institutions and work to mend the rift between scientific and philosophical investigation.
Collaborative Projects
RIFT will involve a series of projects designed to bridge the gap between industry and academia. We envision the following projects to bring this about.
Topics of Investigation
Participating Research Centers
•AI and Humanity Lab at Hong Kong University
•Center for Values and Behaviour at Ludwig Maximillians Universität (LMU) in Munich
•Centre for the Study of the Senses, at the University of London
Directors
Peter Ludlow: Contract Philosopher with status.im and the Institute of Free Technology (IFT), has a long history of working and publishing on topics in artificial intelligence, virtual worlds, and blockchain technologies. These include the books Crypto Anarchy, Cyberstates, and Pirate Utopias (MIT Press), and The Second Life Herald (MIT Press). Former Contract Engineer with Honeywell, Professor of Philosophy at University of Michigan, University of Toronto, and Northwestern University.
Herman Cappelen: Director of the AI and Humanity Lab at Hong Kong University, co-director of the Concept Lab at the University of Oslo and ConceptLab Hong Kong. Member of the Steering Committee of the Institute of Data Science, at the University of Hong Kong. Was the director of Arché Philosophical Research Center in St Andrews, Scotland for several years. For 10 years he was a Research Director of the Center for the Study of Mind in Nature (CSMN) at the University of Oslo.
Ophelia Deroy: Chair for Philosophy of Mind and Neuroscience at the Ludwig Maximillians Universität (LMU) in Munich director of the Center for Values and Behaviour at LMU, member of the Faculty of Philosophy and the Munich Centre for Neurosciences. Formerly, acting director of the Institute of Philosophy at the University of London, and now continues to direct a research center (CREATE) on Experimental Aesthetics, Technology and Engineering there. As an extension, and personal passion, she works with museums, art studios and companies on how to make people think and grapple better with complex ideas, drawing on sensory means – what she calls 'multisensory rhetoric'.
Barry C. SmIth: Director of the Institute of Philosophy at the School of Advanced Study at University of London. Founder and Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of the Senses, at the University of London, which pioneers collaborative research links between philosophers, psychologists and neuroscientists. He has published on the emotions, the perception of taste and on self-knowledge. In November 2012, Barry was appointed AHRC Leadership Fellow for the Science in Culture Theme. As part of this role he provides intellectual and strategic leadership for the further development of the Science in Culture Theme and work closely with senior AHRC Programmes staff to develop partnerships within and beyond academia. He is a frequent broadcaster and recently wrote and presented a 10-part series for BBC Radio 4, The Uncommon Senses.
Affiliated Individuals and Institutions
Coming soon!