PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Cansu Canca

Cansu Canca is a philosopher who applies ethics to AI research and product design. By 2017, she had completed a philosophy PhD at the National University of Singapore on organ markets, studied at Boğaziçi and Osaka, and worked in bioethics at the WHO, Harvard and the University of Hong Kong; she founded AI Ethics Lab. Her career includes the collaborative PiE model for AI innovation, advice on ethical product design, and a Routledge chapter on AI governance in defence. Mozilla named her a 2024 Rise25 Change Agent, and her work underpins a United Nations and INTERPOL toolkit for police. As of October 2026, she directs Responsible AI Practice at Northeastern and coauthors research on mental-health chatbot risks.

Works
17
Citations
132
h-index
5
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 19 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. By 2017

    AI Ethics Lab founder

    By 2017, Canca holds a philosophy PhD from the National University of Singapore on organ markets and has studied at Boğaziçi and Osaka University. Her bioethics work includes the World Health Organization and Harvard Medical School, and she lectures in medical ethics at the University of Hong Kong. She also leads AI Ethics Lab, which advises practitioners and conducts multidisciplinary AI ethics research.

  2. 2018

    The PiE ethics model

    In 2018, Canca’s AI Ethics Lab develops and begins implementing the Puzzle-solving in Ethics (PiE) Model. The model integrates ethical analysis throughout innovation and brings ethics experts together with technology and domain experts.

  3. 2019

    Ethics in product design

    In 2019, Canca urges companies to identify and address AI ethics concerns at every stage of product design and development.

  4. 2023

    A defence AI framework

    In 2023, she publishes a Routledge chapter called “AI and Governance in Defence Innovation: Implementing an AI Ethics Framework.”

  5. 2024

    A Mozilla Rise25 award

    In 2024, Mozilla names her a Rise25 honoree in the Change Agents category.

  6. 2025

    Responsible AI for police

    In 2025, a Responsible AI Toolkit designed with the United Nations and INTERPOL draws largely on her work and has trained thousands of officers worldwide. Canca leads a training session for 60 U.S. police chiefs.

  7. As of October 2026

    Director of Responsible AI

    She is director of Responsible AI Practice at Northeastern’s Institute for Experiential AI and a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religion. In 2026, she coauthors a study that tests eight proprietary LLMs across 16 DSM-5 conditions; it finds safeguards hold reliably only for suicide and self-harm and fail at rates up to 100% for some other conditions.

Career

  1. Since 2026Northeastern UniversityDirector of Responsible AI Practice
  2. University of Hong KongLecturer in medical ethics
  3. AI Ethics LabFounder

Education

  1. 2017National University of SingaporePhD
  2. Boğaziçi University
  3. Osaka University

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

Most-cited works

  1. Operationalizing AI ethics principles2020 · Communications of the ACM · 79 citations
  2. ‘For Argument’s Sake, Show Me How to Harm Myself!’: Jailbreaking LLMs in Suicide and Self-Harm Contexts2025 · IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS) · 19 citations
  3. A User-Focused Transdisciplinary Research Agenda for AI-Enabled Health Tech Governance2019 · 10 citations
  4. AI Ethics and Governance in Defence Innovation2023 · Routledge eBooks · 7 citations
  5. Ethical and Legal Concerns on Data Science for Large-Scale Human Mobility2022 · British Academy eBooks · 5 citations

From OpenAlex, as of 19 October 2026.

  1. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Northeastern University. Our estimates of where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led, from education records in cited biographies.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers rose from 2% to 32%Includes Northeastern University. We estimate where leading AI researchers worked when their most-cited papers appeared. The company share rose from 2% in 1975–1979 to 32% in 2020–2024.
  3. Google has the highest combined h-index among AI organizationsIncludes Northeastern University. Our estimates of combined and median h-index at AI organizations, using current affiliations and OpenAlex records.
  4. Stanford University trained or employed 26 of the 108 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Northeastern University. Stanford University trained or employed 26 of the 108 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and employment links for major-prize and best-paper winners.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Cansu Canca yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Interview with “Jutarnji Life” in Zagreb - AI ETHICS LAB aiethicslab.com. Checked 19 October 2026.
  2. Founder: Cansu Canca, Ph.D. - AI ETHICS LAB aiethicslab.com. Checked 19 October 2026.
  3. THE PiE MODEL: OUR ETHICS MODEL FOR INNOVATION - AI ETHICS LAB aiethicslab.com. Checked 19 October 2026.
  4. Why AI can’t afford to discount diversity | Harvard Business School AI Institute aiinstitute.hbs.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  5. How Should Corporations Ethically Implement AI? Turns out, a philosopher news.northeastern.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  6. Law enforcement is learning how to use AI more ethically thanks to a Northeastern expert news.northeastern.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  7. Cansu Canca | EAI ai.northeastern.edu. Checked 19 October 2026.
  8. One Year Later...The Harms Persist, But So Do We! arxiv.org. Checked 19 October 2026.