Professor Seth Lazar
D.Phil. M.Phil. BA (Hons)
Professor
ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
Areas of expertise
- Social Philosophy 220319
- Ethical Theory 220305
- Applied Ethics 2201
- Human Rights And Justice Issues 220104
- Political Theory And Political Philosophy 160609
- Decision Theory 220302
- International Relations 160607
- Ethical Use Of New Technology 500103
Research interests
Find out more about my research at my Machine Intelligence and Normative Theory (MINT) Lab website!
Biography
Seth Lazar is Professor of Philosophy at the Australian National University, an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow, a Distinguished Research Fellow of the University of Oxford Institute for Ethics in AI, and a member of the Executive Committee of the ACM Fairness, Accountability and Transparency Conference. He has worked and published widely on the ethics of war, risk, and AI, and now leads the Machine Intelligence and Normative Theory (MINT) Lab, where he leads research projects in normative philosophy of computing, funded by the ARC, the Templeton World Charity Foundation, Insurance Australia Group, and Schmidt Futures. His Connected by Code: How AI Structures, and Governs, the Ways We Relate, based on his 2023 Tanner Lecture on AI and Human Values, is forthcoming with Oxford University Press. His recent work can be found at linktr.ee/sethlazar.
Current student projects
Moral Anti-Rationalism
Addressing the Environmental Crisis
Contractualism and Future Generations
Predictive Power
Ethics of Machine Learning
Publications
- Zimmermann, A, Vredenburgh, K & Lazar, S 2022, 'The Political Philosophy of Data and AI', Canadian Journal of Philosophy, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 1-5.
- Benn, C & Lazar, S 2021, 'What is Wrong with Automated Influence', Canadian Journal of Philosophy, vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 125-148.
- Devitt, S, Horne, R, Assaad, Z et al. 2021, Trust and Safety.
- Lazar, S & Graham, P 2021, 'Deontological decision theory and lesser-evil options', Synthese, vol. 198, no. 7, pp. 6889-6916.
- Broad, E, Sheel, M, Lazar, S et al. 2020, Starting With SOAP: rapid deployment of contract tracing in a pandemic.
- Lazar, S 2020, 'Duty and Doubt', Journal of Practical Ethics, vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 28-55.
- Lazar, S 2020, We're Sleepwalking Into a World of Mass Surveillance, pp. online.
- Barry, C & Lazar, S 2020, Justifying Lockdown.
- Lazar, S & Sheel, M 2020, 'Contact tracing apps are vital tools in the fight against coronavirus. But who decides how they work?', The Conversation, no. 12 May, 2020.
- Bell, G, Andrejevic, M, Barry, C et al. 2020, What motivates people to download and continue to use the COVIDSafe app?.
- Lazar, S 2019, 'Deontological Decision Theory and the Grounds of Subjective Permissibility', in Mark Timmons (ed.), Oxford Studies in Normative Ethics, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 204-223.
- Lazar, S 2019, 'Self-Ownership and Agent-Centred Options', Social Philosophy and Policy, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 36pp-50pp.
- Lazar, S 2019, 'Accommodating Options', Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, vol. 100, no. 1, pp. 233-255.
- Lazar, S. & Lee-Stronach, C. 2019 'Axiological Absolutism and Risk', Noûs, vol. 53, no. 1, pp. 97-113.
- Lazar, S 2018, 'Strengthening Moral Distinction', Law and Philosophy, vol. 37, no. 3, pp. 327pp-349pp.
- Lazar, S 2018, 'Moral Status and Agent-Centred Options', Utilitas, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 83-105.
- Lazar, S 2018, 'Moral Sunk Costs', The Philosophical Quarterly, vol. 68, no. 273, pp. 841-861.
- Lazar, S 2018, 'Limited Aggregation and Risk', Philosophy and Public Affairs, vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 117pp-159.
- Lazar, S & Frowe PhD, H 2018, 'The Ethics of War', in Seth Lazar and Helen Frowe (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Ethics of War, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 1-20.
- Lazar, S 2017, 'War's Endings and the Structure of Just War Theory', in Sam Rickless and Saba Bazargan (ed.), The Ethics of War, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 227-242pp.
- Lazar, S 2017, 'Risky Killing How Risks Worsen Violations of Objective Rights', Journal of Moral Philosophy, vol. Online, pp. 1-26pp.
- Lazar, S 2017, 'Just War Theory: Revisionists Versus Traditionalists', Annual Review of Political Science, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 37-54pp.
- Lazar, S 2017, 'Response: Limiting Defensive Rights', Journal of Applied Philosophy, vol. 34, no. 1, pp. 19-23pp.
- Lazar, S 2017, 'Evaluating the Revisionist Critique of Just War Theory', Daedalus, vol. 146, no. 1, pp. 113-124.
- Lazar, S 2017, 'Deontological decision theory and agent-centered options', Ethics: an International journal of social, political and legal philosophy, vol. 127, no. 3, pp. 579-609.
- Lazar, S 2017, 'In dubious battle: uncertainty and the ethics of killing', Philosophical Studies, pp. 25pp.
- Lazar, S 2017, 'Symposium on Ethics and Decision Theory: Introduction', Ethics: an International journal of social, political and legal philosophy, vol. 127, no. 3, pp. 576-578pp.
- Lazar, S & Valentini, L 2017, 'Proxy Battles in Just War Theory: Jus in Bello, the Site of Justice, and Feasibility Constraints', in David Sobel, Peter Vallentyne and Steven Wall (ed.), Oxford Studies in Political Philosophy, Volume 3, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 166-193pp.
- Lazar, S 2016, 'Liability and the Ethics of War: A Response', in Christian Coons and Michael Weber (ed.), The Ethics of Self-Defense, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 292-304pp.
- Lazar, S 2016, 'The Associativist Account of Killing in War', in David Held and Pietro Maffettone (ed.), Global Political Theory, Polity Press, Cambridge, pp. 158-179.
- Lazar, S 2016, 'WAR', Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, pp. 1-65.
- Lazar, S 2016, 'Method in the Morality of War', in Seth Lazar and Helen Frowe (ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Ethics of War, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 1-25.
- Lazar, S 2016, 'Travel, Friends and Killings', in David Edmonds (ed.), Philosophers Take on the World, Oxford University Press, UK, pp. 25-27.
- Lazar, S 2015, 'Authorization and The Morality of War', Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Online First.
- Lazar, S 2016, 'Anton's Game: Deontological Decision Theory for an Iterated Decision Problem', Utilitas, Online First.
- Lazar, S 2016, 'Complicity, Collectives, and Killing in War', Law and Philosophy, Online First.
- Lazar, S 2016, 'The Justification of Associative Duties', Journal of Moral Philosophy, 13:1, 28-55.
- Lazar, S 2015, 'Authority, Oaths, Contracts, and Uncertainty in War', Thought: A Journal of Philosophy, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 52-58.
- Lazar, S 2015, 'Risky Killing and the Ethics of War', Ethics: an International journal of social, political and legal philosophy, vol. 126, no. 1, pp. 91-117.
- Lazar, S 2015, Sparing Civilians, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
- Lazar, S 2014, 'Book Review: Cosmopolitan War', Ethics: an International journal of social, political and legal philosophy, vol. 124, no. 2, pp. 406-412.
- Lazar, S 2014, 'Letter: A Reply to McMahan', Journal of Practical Ethics, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 69-71.
- Fabre, C & Lazar, S, eds, 2014, The Morality of Defensive War, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
- Fabre, C & Lazar, S 2014, 'Introduction to the Morality of Defensive War', in Cecile Fabre & Seth Lazar (ed.), The Morality of Defensive War, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 1-8.
- Lazar, S 2014, 'National Defence, Self-Defence, and the Problem of Political Aggression', in Cecile Fabre & Seth Lazar (ed.), The Morality of Defensive War, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 11-40.
- Lazar, S 2014, 'Necessity and non-combatant immunity', Review of International Studies, vol. 40, no.1, pp. 53-76.
- Lazar, S 2014, On Human Shields, Boston Review.
- Lazar, S 2013, The Moral Responsibility of Volunteer Soldiers: Response to McMahan, Boston Review, pp. 3pp.
- Lazar, S 2013, 'War', in Hugh LaFollette (ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Ethics, John Wiley & Sons Inc, United States of America, pp. 5379-5393.
- Lazar, S 2013, 'Associative Duties and the Ethics of Killing in War', Journal of Practical Ethics, vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 3-48.
- Lazar, S 2013, 'Just War Theory', in Joel Krieger (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Comparative Politics, Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 618-623.
- Lazar, S 2012, 'Necessity in Self-Defense and War', Philosophy and Public Affairs, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 3-44.
- Lazar, S 2012, 'The Morality and Law of War', in Andrei Marmor (ed.), The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Law, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, United Kingdom, pp. 364-380.
- Lazar, S 2012, 'Scepticism about Jus Post Bellum', in Larry May and Andrew T. Forcehimes (ed.), Morality, Jus Post Bellum, and International Law, Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom, pp. 1-292.
- Lazar, S 2011, 'War', in Luanna H Meyer (ed.), Oxford Bibliographies Online, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. Online.
- Lazar, S, ed., 2011, Introduction: Symposium on Jeff McMahan's Killing in War .
- Lazar, S 2011, 'Book review: War: Essays in Political Philosophy', Mind: a quarterly review of philosophy, vol. 120, no. 479, pp. 895-901.
- Lazar, S 2010, 'A Liberal Defence of (Some) Duties to Compatriots', Journal of Applied Philosophy, vol. 27, no. 3, pp. 246-257.
- Lazar, S 2010, 'The Responsibility Dilemma for Killing in War: a Review Essay', Philosophy and Public Affairs, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 180-213.
- Lazar, S 2009, 'Do Associative Duties Really Not Matter?', Journal of Political Philosophy, vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 90-101.
- Lazar, S 2009, 'Responsibility, Risk, and Killing in Self-Defense', Ethics: an International journal of social, political and legal philosophy, vol. 119, no. 4, pp. 699-728.
- Lazar, S 2009, 'The Nature and Disvalue of Injury', Res Publica: a journal of legal and social philosophy, vol. 15, no. 3, pp. 289-304.
- Lazar, S 2008, 'Corrective Justice and the Possibility of Rectification', Ethical Theory and Moral Practice, vol. 11, no. 4, pp. 355-368.
Projects and Grants
Grants information is drawn from ARIES. To add or update Projects or Grants information please contact your College Research Office.
- Socially Responsible Insurance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (Primary Investigator)
- Automatic Authorities: Charting a Course for Legitimate AI (Primary Investigator)
- Moral Skill and Artificial Intelligence (Primary Investigator)
- Ethics and Risk (Primary Investigator)
- Justifying War (Primary Investigator)
