# Johannes Himmelreich > Johannes Himmelreich is Associate Professor in the Department of Public Administration and International Affairs at Syracuse University's Maxwell School. He works in political philosophy, applied ethics, and the philosophy of action — especially on AI governance, data science ethics, and collective responsibility. He co-edited The Oxford Handbook of AI Governance (Oxford University Press) and directs the Minor in AI Policy at Syracuse University. Tagline: AI promises better decisions. The challenge is keeping humans in charge. Website: https://johanneshimmelreich.net/ CV (PDF): https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/cv.pdf ## About Johannes Himmelreich's research asks how artificial intelligence and data science can augment human judgment. Two questions drive this work: How should AI systems be governed? What does it take for data science to lead to better decisions? He co-edited The Oxford Handbook of AI Governance and has published on algorithmic fairness, the ethics of autonomous vehicles, and collective responsibility in leading philosophy and public affairs journals. His current book project, Good Decisions, is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Before joining Syracuse, Himmelreich was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University, where he worked on AI ethics with Apple. He holds a PhD in philosophy from the London School of Economics. ## Research areas - AI governance and policy - Data science ethics - Algorithmic fairness - Ethics of autonomous systems (vehicles, weapons) - Collective agency and moral responsibility - Political philosophy of technology - Public administration and democracy ## Publications Each publication has a detail page (HTML with abstract and citation metadata). Where available, "Full text" links to a Markdown version of the author's manuscript and "PDF" to the paper. ### Forthcoming - [Democracy and the AI-Augmented Administrative State](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichDemocracyAIAugmentedAdministrative/) — in: Democracy’s Mega Challenges: Climate Change, Migration, and Artificial Intelligence | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/democracy-ai-augmented-administrative-state.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichDemocracyAIAugmentedAdministrative.md) ### 2026 - [How Utilitarian Are OpenAI’s Models Really? Replicating and Reinterpreting Pfeffer, Krügel, and Uhl (2025)](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichHowUtilitarianAre2026/) — arXiv preprint | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/how-utilitarian-are-openais-models.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichHowUtilitarianAre2026.md) | [arXiv](https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.22730) ### 2025 - [Silicon Borders: The Global Justice of AI Infrastructure](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichSiliconBordersGlobal2025/) — The Cairo Review of Global Affairs | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/silicon-borders-cairo-review.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichSiliconBordersGlobal2025.md) | [Link](https://www.thecairoreview.com/essays/silicon-borders-the-global-justice-of-ai-infrastructure/) - [Justice in the Global Digital Economy](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichJusticeGlobalDigitalEconomy2025/) — in: Justice in Global Economic Governance: Normative and Empirical Perspectives on Promoting Fairer Globalisation | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/justice-in-the-global-digital-economy.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichJusticeGlobalDigitalEconomy2025.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1515/9781399530156-021) - [The Intersectionality Problem for Algorithmic Fairness](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichIntersectionalityProblemAlgorithmic2025/) — in: Proceedings of Machine Learning Research | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/intersectionality-fairness-PMLR.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichIntersectionalityProblemAlgorithmic2025.md) | [Link](https://proceedings.mlr.press/v279/himmelreich25a.html) | [arXiv](https://arxiv.org/abs/2411.02569) ### 2024 - [The Oxford Handbook of AI Governance](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/bullockOxfordHandbookAIGovernance2024/) — Oxford University Press | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197579329.001.0001) - [AI and Structural Injustice: Foundations for Equity, Values, and Responsibility](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichAIStructuralInjustice2024/) — in: The Oxford Handbook of AI Governance | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/AI-Structural-Injustice.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichAIStructuralInjustice2024.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197579329.013.13) | [arXiv](https://arxiv.org/abs/2205.02389) - [The Disappearing Agent as an Exclusion Problem](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichDisappearingAgentExclusion2024/) — Inquiry | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/disappearing-agent-exclusion-problem.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichDisappearingAgentExclusion2024.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1080/0020174X.2021.1935709) ### 2023 - [What Killed Your Plant? Profligate Omissions and Weak Centering](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichWhatKilledYour2023/) — Erkenntnis | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/profligate-omissions-weak-centereing.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichWhatKilledYour2023.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1007/s10670-021-00422-9) - [Against “Democratizing AI”](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichDemocratizingAI2023/) — AI & Society | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/against-democratizing-AI.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichDemocratizingAI2023.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-021-01357-z) - [Difference-Making and the Control Relation That Grounds Responsibility in Hierarchical Groups](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichDifferencemakingControlRelation2023/) — Philosophical Studies | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/responsibility-hierarchical-groups.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichDifferencemakingControlRelation2023.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-023-02077-4) - [Should We Automate Democracy?](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichShouldWeAutomate2023/) — in: The Oxford Handbook of Digital Ethics | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/automate-democracy.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichShouldWeAutomate2023.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198857815.013.33) ### 2022 - [No Wheel but a Dial: Why and How Passengers in Self-Driving Cars Should Decide How Their Car Drives](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichNoWheelDial2022/) — Ethics and Information Technology | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/no-wheel-but-a-dial-av-ethics-settings.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichNoWheelDial2022.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-022-09668-5) - [Responsible AI Through Conceptual Engineering](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichResponsibleAIConceptual2022/) — Philosophy & Technology | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/responsible-ai-conceptual-engineering.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichResponsibleAIConceptual2022.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-022-00542-2) - [Using Artificial Intelligence to Identify Administrative Errors in Unemployment Insurance](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/youngUsingArtificialIntelligence2022/) — Government Information Quarterly | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/using-ai-identify-administrative-errors.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/youngUsingArtificialIntelligence2022.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2022.101758) ### 2021 - [Existence, Really? Tacit Disagreements about “Existence” in Disputes about Group Minds and Corporate Agents](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichExistenceReallyTacit2021/) — Synthese | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/verbal-disputes.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichExistenceReallyTacit2021.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11229-019-02379-3) - [The Right Tool for The Job? Assessing the Use of Artificial Intelligence for Identifying Administrative Errors](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/youngRightToolJob2021/) — in: DG.O2021: The 22nd Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/right-tool-administrative-errors.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/youngRightToolJob2021.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1145/3463677.3463714) - [Artificial Intelligence and Administrative Evil](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/youngArtificialIntelligenceAdministrative2021/) — Perspectives on Public Management and Governance | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/Artificial-Intelligence-and-Administrative-Evil.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/youngArtificialIntelligenceAdministrative2021.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1093/ppmgov/gvab006) - [Teaching Moral Reasoning: Why and How to Use the Trolley Problem](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichTeachingMoralReasoning2021/) — Journal of Public Affairs Education | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/trolley-teaching.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichTeachingMoralReasoning2021.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1080/15236803.2021.1966591) - [Building Robust and Ethical Vaccination Verification Systems](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/zhangBuildingRobustEthical2021a/) — Brookings | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/zhangBuildingRobustEthical2021a.md) ### 2020 - [Ethics of Technology Needs More Political Philosophy](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichEthicsTechnologyNeeds2020/) — Communications of the ACM | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/ethics-of-tech-political-philosophy-CACM.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichEthicsTechnologyNeeds2020.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1145/3339905) | [arXiv](https://arxiv.org/abs/2001.03511) ### 2019 - [Asylum for Sale: A Market between States That Is Feasible and Desirable](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichAsylumSaleMarket2019/) — Journal of Applied Philosophy | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/Asylum-for-Sale.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichAsylumSaleMarket2019.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1111/japp.12289) - [Punishing Groups: When External Justice Takes Priority over Internal Justice](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichPunishingGroupsWhen2019/) — The Monist | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/punishing-groups.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichPunishingGroupsWhen2019.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1093/monist/onz002) - [Responsibility for Killer Robots](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichResponsibilityKillerRobots2019/) — Ethical Theory and Moral Practice | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/killer-robots.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichResponsibilityKillerRobots2019.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-019-10007-9) ### 2018 - [Agency and Embodiment: Groups, Human–Machine Interactions, and Virtual Realities](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichAgencyEmbodimentGroups2018/) — Ratio | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/Agency-and-Embodiment.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichAgencyEmbodimentGroups2018.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1111/rati.12158) - [Never Mind the Trolley: The Ethics of Autonomous Vehicles in Mundane Situations](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichNeverMindTrolley2018/) — Ethical Theory and Moral Practice | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/never-mind-the-trolley.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichNeverMindTrolley2018.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1007/s10677-018-9896-4) ### 2017 - [The Paraphrase Argument Against Collective Actions](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichParaphraseArgumentCollective2017/) — Australasian Journal of Philosophy | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/paraphrase-argument-collective-agency.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichParaphraseArgumentCollective2017.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1080/00048402.2016.1153685) - [Asyl zu Verkaufen](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichAsylVerkaufen2017/) — in: Wenn ich mir etwas wünschen dürfte: Intellektuelle zur Bundestagswahl 2017 - [Understanding Institutions: The Science and Philosophy of Living Together](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichUnderstandingInstitutionsScience2017/) — Journal of Social Ontology | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/guala-understanding-institutions-book-review.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichUnderstandingInstitutionsScience2017.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1515/jso-2017-0016) ### 2015 - [Epistemic Landscapes, Optimal Search, and the Division of Cognitive Labor](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/alexanderEpistemicLandscapesOptimal2015/) — Philosophy of Science | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/epistemic-landscapes.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/alexanderEpistemicLandscapesOptimal2015.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1086/681766) - [From Individual to Collective Intentionality: New Essays, Edited by Sara Rachel Chant, Frank Hindriks and Gerhard Preyer. Oxford University Press, 2014, 225 Pages.](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichIndividualCollectiveIntentionality2015/) — Economics and Philosophy | [PDF](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/collective-intentionality-book-review.pdf) | [Full text](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/assets/papers/md/himmelreichIndividualCollectiveIntentionality2015.md) | [DOI](https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266267115000218) - [Agency as Difference-Making: Causal Foundations of Moral Responsibility](https://johanneshimmelreich.net/bibliography/himmelreichAgencyDifferencemakingCausal2015/) — PhD thesis, The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) ## Teaching Currently teaching at Syracuse University: - Philosophy & Ethics of Data Science — normative foundations of data collection, algorithmic decision-making, and statistical inference - Public Administration & Democracy — bureaucratic expertise, institutional loyalty, and democratic accountability, including AI in public administration - Ethics of Emerging Technologies — autonomous weapons, gene editing, gamification, surveillance; case-based reasoning and policy applications Recipient of the Birkhead-Burkhead Teaching Excellence Award (2022). Syllabi and assignments available on request. ## Contact - Email: jrhimmel@syr.edu - Address: Department of Public Administration and International Affairs, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, 215 Eggers Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244 ## Profiles - Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=I74cQV8AAAAJ - ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2163-0082 - PhilPeople: https://philpeople.org/profiles/johannes-himmelreich - GitHub: https://github.com/josk0 - LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/johanneshimmelreich - X: https://x.com/jhimmelreich