Luciano Floridi (Italian:[floˈriːdi]; born 16 November 1964) is an Italian and Britishphilosopher. He is the director of the Digital Ethics Center at Yale University. He is also a Professor of Sociology of Culture and Communication at the University of Bologna, Department of Legal Studies,[1] where he is the director of the Centre for Digital Ethics.[2] Furthermore, he is adjunct professor ("distinguished scholar in residence") at the Department of Economics, American University, Washington D.C.[3] He is married to the neuroscientist Anna Christina Nobre.[4]
Floridi is best known for his work on two areas of philosophical research: the philosophy of information, and information ethics (also known as digital ethics or computer ethics), for which he received many awards, including the Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit, Italy's most prestigious honor.[5] According to Scopus, Floridi was the most cited living philosopher in the world in 2020.[6]
Floridi started his academic career as a lecturer in philosophy at the University of Warwick in 1990–1991. He joined the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Oxford in 1990 and the OUCL (Oxford's Department of Computer Science) in 1999. He was junior research fellow (JRF) in philosophy at Wolfson College, Oxford University (1990–1994), a Frances Yates Fellow in the History of Ideas at the Warburg Institute, University of London (1994–1995) and Research Fellow in philosophy at Wolfson College, Oxford University (1994–2001). During these years in Oxford, he held lectureships in different Colleges. Between 1994 and 1996, he also held a post-doctoral research scholarship at the Department of Philosophy, University of Turin. Between 2001 and 2006, he was Markle Foundation Senior Research Fellow in Information Policy at the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy, Oxford University. Between 2002 and 2008, he was associate professor of logic at the Università degli Studi di Bari.[11] In 2006, he became Fellow by Special Election of St Cross College, Oxford University, where he played for the squash team.[13] In 2008, he was appointed full professor of philosophy at the University of Hertfordshire, to hold the newly established research chair in philosophy of information[14] and, in 2009, the UNESCO Chair in Information and Computer Ethics,[15] a position which he held until 2013, when he moved back to Oxford.
In 2017, Floridi became a fellow of the Alan Turing Institute and the chair of its Data Ethics Group, holding these positions until 2021 and 2020, respectively.[16]
Since 2010 he has been editor-in-chief of Philosophy & Technology (Springer).
In January 2023, Floridi announced he would move to Yale at the beginning of the academic year 2023–2024, to take over the position of founding director of the Yale Digital Ethics Center.[17]
One of Floridi's key contributions is his formulation of the 'Philosophy of Information' (PoI).[18][19] The PoI provides a framework for understanding the nature of information and its role in the world. According to Floridi, information is a vital resource that shapes our knowledge and understanding of the world. It is not simply a neutral representation of reality but a part of the world, with its own properties, effects, and moral implications.
Floridi's PoI has several key components[20] including an 'ontology of information', which defines the nature of information, an 'ethics of information', which provides a framework for evaluating the moral implications of information and information technologies, an 'epistemology of information', that analyses the role of information in the development of knowledge and science, and a 'logic of information', the concentrates on the more formal aspects. The PoI also includes a theory of the 'information environment', the infosphere, which encompasses the physical, social, and cultural contexts in which information is produced, used, and communicated.
Recognitions and awards
2022 - Knight of the Grand Cross - First Class of the Order of Merit (Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, the highest honor in the Italian Republic), awarded through a special decree by the president of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella for his work on the philosophy and ethics of information.
2021 - Honorary Doctorate (Laurea honoris causa) in Informatics, University of Skövde, Sweden, for "his groundbreaking work on the philosophy of information".
2020 - Premio Udine Filosofia, Mimesis Festival, for The Logic of Information (OUP, 2019)
2020 - Premio Socrate, Cesare Landa Foundation, for philosophical communication
2019 - CogX Award, for "outstanding achievement in ethics of AI"
2019 - Premio Aretè "Maestro della Responsabilità", Nuvolaverde, Confindustria, Gruppo 24 Ore Salone della CSR e dell'innovazione sociale, for ethics of communication
2018 - Premio Conoscenza, Conferenza dei Rettori delle Università Italiane (CRUI, equivalent of Universities UK)), for achievements in research and communication about digital ethics
2016 - Copernicus Scientist Award, Institute for Advanced Studies of the University of Ferrara, in recognition of research in the ethics and philosophy of information
2013 - Weizenbaum Award, International Society for Ethics and Information Technology, for "very significant contribution to the field of information and computer ethics, through his research, service, and vision"
2012 - Covey Award, International Association for Computing and Philosophy, for "outstanding research in computing and philosophy"
2011 - Honorary Doctorate (Laurea honoris causa) in philosophy, University of Suceava, Romania, for "his leading research in the philosophy and ethics of information"
2011 - Fellow, World Technology Network, NY, in the category "ethics and technology"
2009-10 - Gauss Professor of the Akademie der Wissenschaften, Göttingen, in recognition of research in the philosophy of information (first philosopher to receive the award, generally given to mathematicians or physicists)
^ ab"Dal libro Cervelli in Fuga"(PDF) (in Italian). Archived from the original(PDF) on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 7 September 2008. Biography, in Italian, from Cervelli in Fuga (Roma: Accenti, 2001)
^According to The St Cross College Annual Record, "One of the achievements of which is most proud is having his name engraved on the Oxford Squash Plate and Cup trophies, as captain of the Wolfson teams who won cuppers in 1998-2002."
