Mark Coeckelbergh

Timeline

1. 1975–2003

   Degrees in politics and philosophy

   He is born in Leuven, Belgium, in 1975, and earns a Master (Licentiaat) in Political Sciences at the University of Leuven in 1997. He earns an MA in Social Philosophy at the University of East Anglia in 1999 and a PhD in Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham in 2003.

2. 2001–2006

   Early research and teaching

   At the University of Bath, he works as a Research Officer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 2001 to 2002. He researches at Université de Liège and the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre (SCK-CEN) in 2003. From 2003 to 2006, he teaches as a Lecturer in Philosophy in Maastricht University's Philosophy Group.

3. 2007–2014

   Twente and 3TU leadership

   At the University of Twente, he is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy from 2007 to 2014 and a member of the Centre for Telematics and Information Technology. From 2012 to 2014, he is Managing Director of the 3TU Centre for Ethics and Technology in the Netherlands.

4. 2014–2019

   Professorships at Vienna and De Montfort

   From 2014 to 2019, he is Professor of Technology and Social Responsibility at the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility at De Montfort University, with the role part-time from December 2015. In 2015, he becomes Full Professor of Philosophy of Media and Technology in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Vienna.

5. 2016–2018

   AI values and policy

   In 2016, he joins IEEE's Committee on Embedding Values Into Autonomous Intelligent Systems. In 2018, he joins the European Commission's High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence.

6. 2020–2023

   AI ethics and trustworthy systems

   In 2020, he publishes AI Ethics with MIT Press, an accessible synthesis of ethical questions around AI. The book surveys AI narratives, differences between humans and machines, machine learning, data science, privacy, responsibility, transparency, bias, work and policy proposals. In 2023, he coauthors Connecting the Dots in Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence, which frames AI trustworthiness through technical requirements, ethical principles, regulation and auditing.

7. 2022–2026

   Books on AI and democracy

   In 2022, he publishes The Political Philosophy of AI. In 2024, he publishes Why AI Undermines Democracy and What To Do About It, which examines how AI can affect democratic principles and ways to strengthen them. With David J. Gunkel, he publishes Communicative AI: A Critical Introduction to Large Language Models in 2025, and Artificial Religion: On AI, Myth, and Power in 2026.

8. As of October 2026

   Vienna professor and AI roles

   As of October 2026, he is Professor of Philosophy of Media and Technology at the University of Vienna, Circle U Chair for Artificial Intelligence, and ERA Chair at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences, where he leads the Center of Environmental and Technology Ethics. He is also a member of the United Nations Independent International Scientific Panel on AI. In 2026, he coauthors AI, climate change and justice: elements for a normative framework centring the Global South.