The Covey Award recognizes “senior scholars with a substantial record of innovative research in the field of computing and philosophy broadly conceived.” It is awarded by the executive board of the International Association for Computing and Philosophy (IACAP).
The board recognised Professor Vallors significant contribution to our field, both in academic as well as public spheres over the last two decades… Professor Vallor’s research explores how emerging technologies reshape human moral and intellectual character, and maps the ethical challenges and opportunities posed by new uses of data and artificial intelligence. Her work includes advising academia, government and industry on the ethical design and use of AI. Her current project examines responsibility gaps in the governance of autonomous systems, as part of the UKRI Trustworthy Autonomous Systems programme. She is the author of Technology and the Virtues: A Philosophical Guide to a Future Worth Wanting (Oxford University Press, 2016) and editor of the Oxford Handbook of Philosophy of Technology (2022).She is the recipient of multiple awards for teaching, scholarship and public engagement, including the 2015 World Technology Award in Ethics.
Professor Vallor will present the Covey Award Keynote address at the IACAP 2022 Conference this summer. A list of previous winners of the Covey award can be found here.
In a statement, IACAP Executive Director Steve McKinlay writes:
Shannon Vallor, professor of philosophy at the University of Edinburgh, holder of the Baillie Gifford Chair in the Ethics of Data and Artificial Intelligence at the university’s Edinburgh Futures Institute, and director of its Centre for Technomoral Futures, has been named the winner of the 2022 Covey Award.