PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Karabo Maiyane

Also known as Karabo Samuel Maiyane

Karabo Maiyane is a philosopher who studies the ethics of artificial intelligence, especially autonomous weapons, eldercare robots and human dignity. A 2017 BA (Honours) thesis on artificial moral agency in self-driving cars opened the line of work, and a 2019 MPhil dissertation at the University of Pretoria argued that virtue ethics suits artificial moral reasoning in lethal autonomous weapons systems. The PhD that followed, completed in 2024 under Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem and Thaddeus Metz, developed an African communitarian conception of dignity to evaluate AI in healthcare and warfare. In 2023, they published handbook chapters on autonomous weapons in Africa and on eldercare robots, and wrote on AI in higher education for University World News. They are a lecturer and acting head of the Department of Philosophy at Nelson Mandela University.

Now at
Nelson Mandela University

Timeline

  1. 2017

    Honours thesis on self-driving cars

    In 2017, they earn a BA (Honours) in philosophy with a thesis titled 'The Possibility of Ascribing Artificial Moral Agency: The Case of Self-driving Cars'.

  2. 2019

    An MPhil on virtue ethics

    In 2019, they complete an MPhil dissertation in philosophy at the University of Pretoria, 'A Virtue Ethics Argument for Artificial Moral Reasoning in Autonomous Weapons Systems', under advisor Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem. It argues that a hybrid of top-down and bottom-up programming, using Aristotle's virtue ethics framework with defeasible reasoning, is the best solution at present for artificial moral reasoning in lethal autonomous weapons systems. They present the argument at the Forum for Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) in 2019.

  3. 2020–2024

    PhD on robots and dignity

    They begin a PhD in philosophy in 2020 and finish it at the University of Pretoria in 2024 with the thesis 'Robots and dignity from an Afro-communitarian perspective', under advisor Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem and co-advisor Thaddeus Metz. It develops an African communitarian conception of dignity, on which a person has dignity when they have the capacity for communal relationships, and uses it to evaluate AI technologies in healthcare and warfare.

  4. 2023

    Autonomous weapons in Africa

    In 2023, they publish the chapter 'Autonomous Weapons and the Future of Warfare in Africa' in the Routledge Handbook of African Political Philosophy, edited by U. Okeja.

  5. 2023

    Robots and dignity in eldercare

    Their chapter 'Robots and Dignity: An Afro-communitarian Argument in Eldercare' appears in 2023 in the Handbook of African Philosophy from Springer Nature, edited by E. Imafidon, M. Tshivhase and B. Freter.

  6. October 2023

    University World News essay

    In October 2023, they write 'AI in HE: The end game must be a more equitable society' for University World News, naming privacy, bias and academic integrity as the ethical issues universities must consider when they use AI.

  7. As of October 2026

    Acting head of philosophy

    They are a lecturer and acting head of the Department of Philosophy at Nelson Mandela University, where their teaching covers moral and political philosophy and the history of philosophy. Their research interests include the impact of AI technologies on human dignity in healthcare, warfare and social robotics.

Career

  1. NowNelson Mandela UniversityLecturer

Education

  1. 2024University of PretoriaPhD
  2. 2019University of PretoriaMPhil

From the biography.

  1. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of Pretoria. 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.
  2. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI each year from 1955 to 2025, tracing the shift from university labs to companies.
  3. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIWe estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.
  4. 43% of living people shaping AI work outside their country of birthWe estimate that 43% of living people shaping AI work outside their country of birth (520 of 1,198 people with known birth and employment countries).

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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

  1. Karabo Maiyane | CAIR cair.org.za. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. A Virtue Ethics Argument for Artificial Moral Reasoning in Autonomous Weapons Systems repository.up.ac.za. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Robots and dignity from an Afro-communitarian perspective repository.up.ac.za. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Dr Karabo Maiyane - Philosophy philosophy.mandela.ac.za. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. AI in HE: 'The end game must be a more equitable society' universityworldnews.com. Checked 21 October 2026.