Biography

I am a psychologist and experimental philosopher whose work sits at the intersection of psychology, ethics, politics, and artificial intelligence. I am a Reader (Associate Professor) in Psychology at the University of Kent, where I lead an interdisciplinary research programme examining how people make moral judgements, how we infer moral character, and how trust and legitimacy shape responses to institutions and emerging technologies.

My research combines experimental psychology, cross-cultural studies, and philosophical analysis, and addresses questions ranging from the foundations of moral judgement and impartiality to public trust in leaders, institutions, and algorithmic decision-making. I am particularly interested in how judgments of morality shape judgments of character and trust, and how perceptions of moral character and trust shape our perceptions of right and wrong.

A central focus of my current work is the moral psychology of artificial intelligence. I lead a five-year, €1.7 million European Research Council–funded project exploring when, why, and how people trust AI as a fundamentally moral phenomenon. By linking empirical research on trust and judgement with debates in AI ethics, political theory, and moral philosophy, my work argues that understanding trust in AI requires considering not only how people think, but also reflecting on the kind of world that trust in AI serves to create.

Alongside my academic work, I am committed to public engagement and policy-relevant research that can translate behavioural and ethical insights into discussions about governance, legitimacy, and the societal impact of emerging technologies. My aim is to bridge rigorous theory with real-world decision-making, helping ensure that debates about AI, trust, and morality are informed not only by what systems can do, but by how people understand and live with them.

I completed my undergraduate and postgraduate training in psychology and philosophy at the University of Oxford, where I received my D.Phil (PhD) in Experimental Psychology. Prior to joining the University of Kent, I held research positions at the University of Oxford and Leiden University, and was a Fulbright Fellow at Harvard University. My work has been published in leading journals including Psychological Review, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Science, Bioethics, and Nature Human Behaviour, and has been featured in outlets such as The New York Times, The Guardian, Scientific American, and The Times. I have been honoured to receive a Philip Leverhulme Prize, an SPSP Theoretical Innovation Prize, the EASP Early Career Award, the SPSP Early Career Trajectory Award, and the APS Rising Star Award.

My research has been supported by major competitive funding, including a New Investigator Grant from the Economic and Social Research Council, a Philip Leverhulme Prize, and a five-year European Research Council Starting Grant (€1.7 million). This ERC project on “Trust in “Moral” Machines” examines when, why, and how people trust artificial systems in morally consequential domains, and what the ethical and political consequences of that trust are. More information about this project, including ongoing studies and public-facing outputs, can be found here.