Harry Weir-McAndrew

Harry Weir-McAndrew's doctoral research critically examines the "Vulnerability Gap" (Vallor & Vierkant, 2024), which describes an imbalanced relationship that arises when AI and autonomous systems (AI/AS) are integrated into our world, particularly regarding who is exposed to harm and who can be held responsible. His work interrogates how these socio-technical systems, and the organisational structures surrounding them, often shield human creators and deployers from the reciprocal, affectively-laden moral address that is crucial for the development of the skill-based capacities associated with responsible agency. This gap, he argues, risks disrupting the social dynamics of our moral ecology, leading to novel forms of alienation and the erosion of social trust. Drawing upon accounts of scaffolded moral agency and reactive attitudes (e.g., McGeer, Strawson), a phenomenologically informed approach to moral experience, evidence, and social ontology, and critical theories of socio-technical systems and organisational power (e.g., Weber, Arendt), the research aims to develop robust philosophical frameworks for understanding and mitigating this gap, thereby fostering conditions for more accountable and ethically attuned technological development.

To learn more about Harry’s research project visit the project page.

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