Carissa Véliz
Associate Professor of Philosophy, Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford
Carissa Véliz is a renowned expert in AI, technology and ethics at the University of Oxford and a best-selling author.
She is the author of the highly-acclaimed Privacy Is Power (an Economist book of the year) and the editor of the Oxford Handbook of Digital Ethics. In 2024, the Oxford University press published her book – The Ethics of Privacy and Surveillance.
Her latest, and most far-reaching book yet — Prophecy: Prediction, Power, and the Fight for the Future, from Ancient Oracles to AI (2026) — has received rave reviews and was longlisted for the 2026 FT and Standard Chartered Business Book of the Year Award. In this work, she argues that predictions undermine democracy, eroding privacy and replacing human judgment. Of the book, Roger McNamee (author of Zucked) said, “This is the most important book you will read for years.”
A TED Fellow, Carissa’s 2026 TED talk received a standing ovation. According to Forbes, the most provocative idea from the whole event was from her session.
Carissa has been featured in media outlets such as Wired, the Guardian, New Statesman, Slate, The Economist and El País. Her academic work has been published in The Harvard Business Review, Nature Electronics, Nature Energy, and AI & Society, among other journals.
As a speaker, she is sought after for her expertise on the moral implications of emerging technologies, and her work on the philosophy of artificial intelligence has been particularly influential. Carissa has spoken at many conferences and events, including TEDx, providing insightful commentary and presentations on ethics in AI and privacy. She enjoys engaging with philosophy and ethics as she is dedicated to helping people understand these complex topics in a way that is both informative and accessible.
In the field of technology, Carissa’s research focuses on digital ethics. Her areas include privacy and issues related to artificial intelligence and other moral and political philosophy topics that she is interested in exploring more generally for the philosophical insights they may offer towards understanding today’s society. She has expertise in AI privacy concerns and moral theory, especially around how data collection affects people’s lives, and explores practical implications for policy making, particularly toward social justice and public policy.
Carissa is a member of ‘Women 4 Ethics of AI’ for UNESCO. Their objective is to strengthen the ability of UNESCO’s member states to promote trustworthy AI systems based on their recommendations. She is also a Board member of the Proton Foundation.
As an adviser, Carissa collaborates with public and private organisations as she is passionate about helping people understand the ethical implications of new technologies. She believes that by understanding these implications, we can make better decisions about how to use technology, individually and collectively.
She has been a witness to the UK House of Lords Communications and Digital Select Committee and to the Joint Committee on the Draft Online Safety Bill. In the US, she has advised Congress on matters of privacy. In Spain, she was a member of the Group of Experts who advised on the drafting of Digital Rights Charter, and a member of the High-Level Advisory Panel on Technology and Global Order who wrote the Digital Strategy for Spain at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Carissa is an Associate Professor in Philosophy at the Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford. In addition to being a professor, she is a Tutorial Fellow at the University of Oxford’s Hertford College. She is the recipient of the prestigious Herbert A. Simon Award for Outstanding Research in Computing and Philosophy.
