Markus Kneer

Markus Kneer is a Research Fellow at the University of Zurich affiliated with the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Department of Philosophy, while also serving as a research fellow at the Digital Society Initiative (DSI) Zurich where he leads the Digital Ethics Lab. He heads the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF)-funded Guilty Minds Lab, focusing on interdisciplinary research at the intersection of cognitive science and ethics.

Education

• PhD, École Normale Supérieure (ENS), Paris
• BA, University of Oxford

Dr. Kneer's research investigates the cognitive and linguistic foundations of moral judgment through experimental approaches, with growing emphasis on AI ethics. His work bridges empirical psychology, philosophy, and computer science to address algorithmic bias, moral responsibility in autonomous systems, and the societal impact of emerging technologies. He examines how language shapes moral cognition and develops frameworks for ethical AI grounded in human cognitive processes.

As director of the SNSF-funded Guilty Minds Lab and DSI's Digital Ethics Lab, he leads interdisciplinary teams integrating philosophers, cognitive scientists, and computer scientists. These labs produce high-impact research addressing real-world ethical challenges in digital society through collaborative projects with industry and policy stakeholders.

Dr. Kneer has secured competitive research funding including the SNSF grant for the Guilty Minds Lab. His leadership involves mentoring junior researchers and fostering international collaborations across cognitive science and AI ethics domains, while actively contributing to the DSI's mission of shaping responsible digital transformation.