About prof. Soraj Hongladarom

Professor Dr. Soraj Hongladarom's areas of specialization include AI ethics, Philosophy of Technology, and Buddhist Ethics. Additionally, he is competent in early modern philosophy and the intersection of philosophy and literature. His research interests are diverse, covering areas such as AI ethics, Buddhist philosophy, and intercultural ethics.

Currently, Professor Dr. Soraj Hongladarom serves as a lecturer at the International Buddhist Studies College, Mahachulalongkornrajavidyalaya University, where he continues to inspire and educate students in the fields of philosophy and Buddhist studies. His work not only bridges Western and Eastern philosophical traditions but also addresses contemporary ethical issues.

About prof. Catriona McKinnon

I am a political philosopher working on environmental ethics and climate justice with a particular focus on what we owe to future people in the face of our multiple environmental crises. I am the co-director of RENEW: Renewing Biodiversity Through a People-in-Nature Approach. This five year programme funded by NERC (£12m) brings together academics from all Faculties at Exeter, and dozens of external partners, to research and implement solutions to the UK's biodiversity crisis.

I was educated in the Philosophy department at University College London. Under the supervision of Professor Jo Wolff and Professor Veronique Munoz-Darde, my PhD explored the importance of self-respect and its social bases in the political philosophy of John Rawls.

Before completing my PhD I took up a Lectureship in the Politics department at Exeter in 1997. In 2000 I moved to the Politics department at the University of York, and then to the Politics department at the University of Reading in 2004. I became a Reader in Political Theory at Reading in 2008 and was promoted to Professor in 2010. Coming full circle, I rejoined the department of Politics at Exeter in 2019.

About prof. Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem

Emma Ruttkamp-Bloem is a philosopher of science and technology, an AI ethics policy advisor, and a machine ethics researcher. Currently at UP, she is the Head of the Department of Philosophy and a senior faculty fellow of the African Institute for Data Science and AI.

She will become the UNESCO Chair in AI for Community Resilience from 1 July 2026. Emma also leads the AI ethics group at the South African Centre for AI Research (CAIR).

She is the current Chairperson of the UNESCO World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST), a member of UNESCO’s AI Ethics Experts without Borders Network, and joined the WEF’s Global Future Council on Autonomous Systems in 2025.

She has been a member of the Global Academic Network, Centre for AI and Digital Policy, Washington DC since 2023, and has worked on AI governance projects with the African Union Development Agency and the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights.

She is a scientific advisor for the African Centre for AI, and a member of the international advisory board at the Global Centre on AI Governance. She is a member of various other international AI ethics advisory boards ranging from academia (e.g., the Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Programme Human Sciences, hosted by Umeå University, Sweden), the inter-governmental sector (e.g., WEF and UNESCO), to the private sector (e.g., SAP SE, EthicEdge).

She is an associate editor for Science and Engineering Ethics.