PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

John Danaher

John Danaher is a legal scholar whose books and articles examine AI’s legal and ethical questions. He earned degrees at University College Cork and Trinity College Dublin, taught law at Keele, and joined Galway in 2014. His books addressed robot ethics, life without work, and AI’s social and legal effects; his later articles examined generative AI and inventorship. As of October 2026, he is a Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor in the University of Galway’s School of Law.

Badges

Timeline

  1. 2006–2011

    Degrees at Cork and Trinity

    He earns a BCL from University College Cork in 2006, an LLM from Trinity College Dublin in 2007, and a PhD from University College Cork in 2011.

  2. 2011–2014

    Law posts at Keele and Galway

    At Keele University, he lectures in law from 2011 to 2014. He joins Galway in July 2014.

  3. 2017

    Coediting Robot Sex

    In 2017, he coedits Robot Sex: Social and Ethical Implications, published by MIT Press.

  4. 2019

    Automation and Utopia

    Automation and Utopia makes the case for a world without work where people can invent, play games, and explore virtual realities; Harvard University Press publishes the book in 2019.

  5. 2021

    A citizen’s guide to AI

    In 2021, he contributes to A Citizen’s Guide to Artificial Intelligence, published by MIT Press. The book surveys AI’s moral, political, legal and economic implications.

  6. October 2024

    Generative AI and equality norms

    In October 2024, he publishes a review article in Cognition on how generative AI can alter moral beliefs and practices around equality, especially equality of opportunity.

  7. 2025

    AI inventorship in bioethics

    He publishes Why We Should Recognise AI as an Inventor in the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry in 2025.

  8. As of October 2026

    Senior Lecturer at Galway

    As of October 2026, he is a Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor in the University of Galway’s School of Law.

Career

  1. Since 2014Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of GalwaySenior Lecturer and Associate Professor
  2. 2011–2014Keele UniversityLecturer in Law

Education

  1. 2011University College CorkPhD
  2. 2007Trinity College DublinLLM
  3. 2006University College CorkBCL

From the biography.

Videos

YouTube videos in which John Danaher speaks or appears, newest first. A model chose them from YouTube search results. List updated 20 October 2026.

  1. John Danaher: Grappling, Jiu Jitsu, ADCC, and Animal Combat | Lex Fridman Podcast #328Lex Fridman · 10 October 2022 · 4 h 49 min
  2. John Danaher: The Path to Mastery in Jiu Jitsu, Grappling, Judo, and MMA | Lex Fridman Podcast #182Lex Fridman · 9 May 2021 · 3 h 38 min

Video data from YouTube API Services. By watching you agree to the YouTube Terms of Service. How we use YouTube data.

  1. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  2. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labsIncludes Ollscoil na Gaillimhe – University of Galway. The median h-index is 48 at universities and 14 at frontier AI labs. We compare publishing careers, recent citations, dual appointments and job moves across 2,420 university researchers and 308 frontier-lab researchers.
  3. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Trinity College Dublin. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  4. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes University College Cork. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 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 John Danaher yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. John Danaher - University of Galway research.universityofgalway.ie. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Automation and Utopia: Human Flourishing in a World without Work - John Danaher - Google Books books.google.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. A Citizen’s Guide to Artificial Intelligence - University of Bristol research-information.bris.ac.uk. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. A Citizen's Guide to Artificial Intelligence by John Zerilli: 9780262553926 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books penguinrandomhouse.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Generative AI and the future of equality norms - University of Galway research.universityofgalway.ie. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Why We Should Recognise AI as an Inventor - University of Galway research.universityofgalway.ie. Checked 21 October 2026.