RESEARCH
Five converging lines of inquiry
The Chair’s research programme unfolds across five interrelated fields where the ethical, political, and epistemic challenges of artificial intelligence converge. Each line combines conceptual analysis with applied research, drawing on ongoing projects, publications, and international collaborations.
04 · CENTRAL AXIS
01 · RESEARCH AREA
AI, Politics & Society
How artificial intelligence reshapes democratic institutions, social justice, and global inequalities. Research within this line examines the political dimensions of algorithmic governance, the redistribution of power in digital ecosystems, and the conditions under which AI systems can support, rather than erode, public deliberation and social cohesion.
RELATED PUBLICATION
AI and Democratic Citizenship: Risks, Opportunities and Policy Pathways for Democratic Renewal
Benedetta Giovanola · IE Center for the Governance of Change · 2026
RELATED PROGRAMMES & PROJECTS
Ph.D. in Politics, Society, Technology
University of Macerata · interdisciplinary research on emerging technologies, society, governance, and political-economic transformation.
JustHealth
Horizon Europe · MSCA Doctoral Network. A research and training programme developing a decolonized ethics and governance framework for just and trustworthy AI in healthcare, with social justice at its core.
02 · RESEARCH AREA
AI & Peacebuilding
The role of artificial intelligence in building and sustaining the social, political, and institutional conditions for peace. This line examines conflict prevention, migration, humanitarian response, international cooperation, and the effects of AI on vulnerable populations and fragile contexts, asking under which ethical and governance conditions AI can support rights, inclusion, social cohesion, and long-term peace.
RELATED PUBLICATION
AI and Migration Challenges in the EU
Letizia Conte & Benedetta Giovanola · in Europe’s Digital Challenges: Governance, Regulation, and Society · Routledge, 2026 · pp. 175–190
03 · RESEARCH AREA
AI & Agency
What it means to speak of agency, autonomy, and responsibility in a world of increasingly capable machines. Drawing on moral philosophy, cognitive science, and the philosophy of action, this line investigates the boundaries between human decision-making and algorithmic influence, and the normative conditions for meaningful human control.
RELATED PUBLICATION
Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy: On the Ethical Dimension of Recommender Systems
Sofia Bonicalzi, Mario De Caro & Benedetta Giovanola · Topoi 42, 2023 · pp. 819–832
04 · CENTRAL RESEARCH AXIS
AI & Practical Wisdom
Rooted in the Aristotelian tradition, phronesis names the practical intellectual virtue through which agents deliberate wisely in concrete, context-dependent situations. The Chair takes this classical notion as the starting point for a distinct approach to AI ethics: one that does not reduce ethical reasoning to principles, checklists, or compliance regimes.
Where much of contemporary AI ethics operates through general rules to be enforced, practical wisdom asks a different set of questions. How is ethical discernment cultivated? Under what conditions can it be embedded in the design of AI systems? Who bears the responsibility for exercising it, and through which institutional and technical arrangements?
This line articulates the theoretical foundations of the Chair and connects with each of the other four research areas, providing them with a common philosophical horizon and, at the same time, drawing on their empirical and normative insights.
05 · RESEARCH AREA
Ethics by Design
Translating ethical reasoning into the concrete practices of AI development. Working with engineers, healthcare professionals, and educators, this line contributes to training frameworks, assessment tools, and governance protocols that embed ethical values from the earliest stages of the design process.
RELATED PROJECT
ERASMUS+
EthicAI4CARE
A European project developing an ethics-by-design framework and self-assessment tool for trustworthy AI in healthcare, while integrating ethical and legal competences into healthcare education and training.
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Uncovering ethical biases in publicly available fetal ultrasound datasets
Benedetta Giovanola et al. · npj Digital Medicine 8, 2025
An ethical framework for trustworthy Neural Rendering applied in cultural heritage and creative industries
Benedetta Giovanola et al. · Frontiers in Computer Science 6, 2024
Embedding AI ethics into the design and use of computer vision technology for consumer’s behavior understanding
Benedetta Giovanola et al. · Computer Vision and Image Understanding 248, 2024
FEATURED PUBLICATIONS
Recent work from the Chair holders
A selection of recent books and articles on the ethical, political, and philosophical dimensions of artificial intelligence.
FEATURED BOOK · 2025
Intelligenze. Etica e politica dell’IA
Mario De Caro & Benedetta Giovanola · il Mulino, Bologna, 2025.
RECENT ARTICLES
2025
A Stalemate in Naturalizing Ethics: Insights from Theories of Punishment
Sofia Bonicalzi, Mario De Caro & Andrea Lavazza · International Journal of Philosophical Studies.
2024
The Ethical Model of Orchestra Conducting: A Psychological and Philosophical Perspective
Mario De Caro & Chiara Palazzolo · Philosophical Psychology.
2023
Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy: On the Ethical Dimension of Recommender Systems
Sofia Bonicalzi, Mario De Caro & Benedetta Giovanola · Topoi 42, pp. 819–832.
RESEARCH COLLABORATIONS
Bring another discipline into the conversation
The Chair welcomes dialogue with universities, research groups, institutions, and professionals working on the ethical dimensions of artificial intelligence.