معرفی
Markus Furendal is a researcher at the Department of Political Science, Stockholm University, and is also affiliated with the Institute for Futures Studies in Stockholm. His work spans political philosophy, ethics of artificial intelligence, distributive justice, and the philosophy of work, with a particular emphasis on how transformative AI technologies should be governed and how their benefits and burdens ought to be distributed.
Education
- Ph.D. Political Science, Stockholm University (2020)
- M.Sc. Political Science, Stockholm University (2014)
- B.Sc. Political Science, Stockholm University (2012)
Research Interests
At the intersection of politics, economics and philosophy, Furendal investigates the social and ethical impact of Artificial Intelligence. Core questions include how the gains created by increasingly capable AI should be shared across society and what democratic legitimacy requires of global AI governance regimes. He brings insights from distributive justice and democratic theory to bear on concrete policy problems raised by AI.
Complementing this, he pursues Egalitarianism and the Future of Work, analysing whether AI-driven automation will augment human capacities or stunt human flourishing, and exploring institutional reforms such as collective capital ownership (e.g., revived wage-earner funds) that could secure both justice and democracy in a post-work future.
Publication Trends
Across 2022-2025 his articles coalesce around three interlinked themes: (1) developing normative frameworks for global AI governance that satisfy democratic legitimacy criteria; (2) interrogating the value and future of work under advanced automation; and (3) theorising contributive justice—the moral duties individuals have to sustain just institutions. Journals include Nature Machine Intelligence, Journal of Applied Philosophy, Political Studies, Philosophy & Technology and International Studies Review, demonstrating cross-disciplinary reach from political theory to AI ethics and technology policy.
Scientific Awards & Distinctions
No major named prizes are listed; however, his dissertation Do Your Bit, Claim Your Share was published as a monograph by Stockholm University (ISBN 978-91-7911-305-6) and he held visiting fellowships at:
- Department of Philosophy, Harvard University
- Department of Politics & International Relations and the Centre for the Study of Social Justice, Oxford University
Teaching & Advising
Furendal teaches courses across the undergraduate and master’s curricula at Stockholm University, including:
- Samtida politisk teori (Contemporary Political Theory)
- Jämlikhetens teori och praktik (Theory and Practice of Equality)
- Att studera demokrati (The Study of Democracy)
- Bachelor’s and Master’s thesis supervision
He has also supervised bachelor theses at Södertörn University College. No specific PhD advisees are named in the provided text.
Research Projects & Teams
Since 2024 he is co-lead on two funded projects:
- Automated Decision-Making in the Public Sector (Institute for Futures Studies)
- Democracy and the Global Governance of AI (Stockholm University)
He previously held a post-doctoral position examining the emergence and normative implications of international AI regimes. He co-edits an upcoming volume on global AI governance and convenes regular panels at the MANCEPT Workshops in Political Theory.
