Nick Schuster
Research Fellow, The Australian National University
PhD: Washington University in St. Louis
Research Specialties: Moral, Social, and Political Philosophy; Philosophy of Technology
Teaching Specialties: Philosophy of Race and Gender; Environmental Ethics; Biomedical Ethics
Awards: Young Ethicist Prize, Rocky Mountain Ethics Congress (2019)
Helen Stenner Memorial Essay Prize, Department of Philosophy, Washington University in St. Louis (2018)
Research Specialties: Moral, Social, and Political Philosophy; Philosophy of Technology
Teaching Specialties: Philosophy of Race and Gender; Environmental Ethics; Biomedical Ethics
Awards: Young Ethicist Prize, Rocky Mountain Ethics Congress (2019)
Helen Stenner Memorial Essay Prize, Department of Philosophy, Washington University in St. Louis (2018)
about me
I grew up in Minneapolis, MN and attended The College of St. Benedict / St. John's University, where I studied Philosophy and Theater. After four years as a part-time actor and full-time forklift driver, I started my graduate studies at Washington University in St. Louis. There, I honed my skills under the guidance of many great minds, including Anne Margaret Baxley, Eric Brown, Julia Driver, John Doris, Charlie Kurth, and Kit Wellman. I'm currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, supervised by Seth Lazar, in the School of Philosophy at the Australian National University, where I'm a member of the Humanising Machine Intelligence (HMI) Grand Challenge and manager of the Machine Intelligence and Normative Theory (MINT) Lab.
Research
My research program addresses three central questions:
(1) How do good moral agents (learn to) determine what to do? To address this question, I employ the skill model of virtue, the idea that moral virtue is like, or just is, a practical skill. This idea has been extensively developed in the eudaimonist tradition, going back to Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics. I, however, develop a deontological model of moral skill and argue that this normative framework is better equipped to make sense of good moral agency on the model of ordinary practical skills.
(2) How should we understand and evaluate inner conflict in moral agency? Building on my dissertation, I note certain puzzles that arise from Aristotelian conceptions of virtue, vice, continence, and incontinence. And I offer new ways to think about the psychology of each of these states and the key differences between them. The result is a novel framework for making sense of inner conflict, and lack thereof, in moral life.
(3) How do the tools we use affect our moral agency, and what are the social and political ramifications thereof? Currently funded by a Templeton World Charity Foundation (TWFC) grant, this branch of my research focuses on how AI technologies, in particular, stand to reshape moral skills like attention, role-taking, and decision-making. By considering how the distinctive affordances of these tools are apt to affect the basic cognitive capacities through which we express and pursue our values, I aim to expose the various ways in which AI can change, enhance, or undermine our moral skills, as well as the social and political implications of these technosocial trends.
Finally, I've recently begun working on an Australian Research Council Linkage project on Socially Responsible Insurance in the Age of AI. For this project, I'm investigating the social function and normative foundations of insurance and how structural injustice affects the fairness of insurance programs.
(1) How do good moral agents (learn to) determine what to do? To address this question, I employ the skill model of virtue, the idea that moral virtue is like, or just is, a practical skill. This idea has been extensively developed in the eudaimonist tradition, going back to Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics. I, however, develop a deontological model of moral skill and argue that this normative framework is better equipped to make sense of good moral agency on the model of ordinary practical skills.
(2) How should we understand and evaluate inner conflict in moral agency? Building on my dissertation, I note certain puzzles that arise from Aristotelian conceptions of virtue, vice, continence, and incontinence. And I offer new ways to think about the psychology of each of these states and the key differences between them. The result is a novel framework for making sense of inner conflict, and lack thereof, in moral life.
(3) How do the tools we use affect our moral agency, and what are the social and political ramifications thereof? Currently funded by a Templeton World Charity Foundation (TWFC) grant, this branch of my research focuses on how AI technologies, in particular, stand to reshape moral skills like attention, role-taking, and decision-making. By considering how the distinctive affordances of these tools are apt to affect the basic cognitive capacities through which we express and pursue our values, I aim to expose the various ways in which AI can change, enhance, or undermine our moral skills, as well as the social and political implications of these technosocial trends.
Finally, I've recently begun working on an Australian Research Council Linkage project on Socially Responsible Insurance in the Age of AI. For this project, I'm investigating the social function and normative foundations of insurance and how structural injustice affects the fairness of insurance programs.
Publications
"Attention, Moral Skill, and Algorithmic Recommendation," in Philosophical Studies (forthcoming)
"The Skill Model: A Dilemma for Virtue Ethics," in Ethical Theory and Moral Practice
"Complex Harmony: Rethinking the Virtue-Continence Distinction," in The Journal of Ethics
"The Skill Model: A Dilemma for Virtue Ethics," in Ethical Theory and Moral Practice
"Complex Harmony: Rethinking the Virtue-Continence Distinction," in The Journal of Ethics
PUblic philosopy / outreach
Virtual Lecture: "Ethics for Artifical Intelligence" University of Southern Queensland Research Masterclass Series (October 2023)
Interview: "Explainer: Unethical AI and what can be done about it" by Petra Stock, Cosmos Magazine (April 2023)
Virtual Lecture: "Ethics and Politics of Machine Learning," CSIRO Next Generation Graduates Program (February 2023)
Tutorial: "Ethical Theory for Machine Learning," ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (June 2022)
Newspaper Article: "Patriotism vs Jingoism," St. Louis Post-Dispatch (July 2018)
Interview: "Explainer: Unethical AI and what can be done about it" by Petra Stock, Cosmos Magazine (April 2023)
Virtual Lecture: "Ethics and Politics of Machine Learning," CSIRO Next Generation Graduates Program (February 2023)
Tutorial: "Ethical Theory for Machine Learning," ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (June 2022)
Newspaper Article: "Patriotism vs Jingoism," St. Louis Post-Dispatch (July 2018)
teaching
I enjoy teaching a wide array of courses in moral, social, and political philosophy. Click on the links below to view some of my course websites:
Philosophy, AI, and Society
Artificial Intelligence and Normative Theory
Race, Gender, and Social Justice
Political and Social Philosophy
Great Philosophers
Classical Ethical Theories
Environmental Ethics
Biomedical Ethics
Present Moral Problems
Philosophy, AI, and Society
Artificial Intelligence and Normative Theory
Race, Gender, and Social Justice
Political and Social Philosophy
Great Philosophers
Classical Ethical Theories
Environmental Ethics
Biomedical Ethics
Present Moral Problems
presentations
“Role-Taking Skill and Online Marginalization” Pacific Division Meeting, APA (2024)
“Moral Expertise, Reasonable Pluralism, and Crowdsourcing for Machine Ethics” University of Manchester (2023)
“Role-Taking Skill and Online Marginalization” University of Leeds (2023)
“Vice, Incontinence, and Amorality”Australasian Association of Philosophy (2023)
"A Deontological Model of Moral Skill"
Pacific Division Meeting, APA (2023)
"Moral Expertise and Crowdsourcing for Machine Ethics" University of Wisconsin (2023)
"Vice, Incontinence, and Amorality" Univeristy of Minnesota (2023)
"The Skill Model: A Dilemma for Virtue Ethics"
Central Division Meeting, APA (2021)
"The Skill Model: A Dilemma for Virtue Ethics"
Rocky Mountain Ethics Congress, CU Boulder (2020)
"When Silence is Golden: On the Virtue-Continence Distinction"
Eastern Division Meeting, APA (2020)
"Complex Harmony: Rethinking the Virtue-Continence Distinction"
Rocky Mountain Ethics Congress, CU Boulder (2019)
"Virtue, Discord, and Happiness: a Kantian account of the proper place for inner conflict and the possibility of happiness in the virtuous life”
Central Division Meeting, APA (2017)
“Moral Expertise, Reasonable Pluralism, and Crowdsourcing for Machine Ethics” University of Manchester (2023)
“Role-Taking Skill and Online Marginalization” University of Leeds (2023)
“Vice, Incontinence, and Amorality”Australasian Association of Philosophy (2023)
"A Deontological Model of Moral Skill"
Pacific Division Meeting, APA (2023)
"Moral Expertise and Crowdsourcing for Machine Ethics" University of Wisconsin (2023)
"Vice, Incontinence, and Amorality" Univeristy of Minnesota (2023)
"The Skill Model: A Dilemma for Virtue Ethics"
Central Division Meeting, APA (2021)
"The Skill Model: A Dilemma for Virtue Ethics"
Rocky Mountain Ethics Congress, CU Boulder (2020)
"When Silence is Golden: On the Virtue-Continence Distinction"
Eastern Division Meeting, APA (2020)
"Complex Harmony: Rethinking the Virtue-Continence Distinction"
Rocky Mountain Ethics Congress, CU Boulder (2019)
"Virtue, Discord, and Happiness: a Kantian account of the proper place for inner conflict and the possibility of happiness in the virtuous life”
Central Division Meeting, APA (2017)
other activities
Organizer, Dagstuhl Seminar: Roadmap for Responsible Robotics (2023)
Schedule Chair, ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT) (2022)
Editorial Assistant, Ethics (2018-19)
Schedule Chair, ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (FAccT) (2022)
Editorial Assistant, Ethics (2018-19)