Stephen Mann

Stephen Mann is a computational modeler and philosopher of science at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology's Department of Linguistic and Cultural Evolution (DLCE) since 2024. Previously, he held postdoctoral positions at the LOGOS Group (University of Barcelona, Spain) and the Surrey Morphology Group (University of Surrey, UK), while maintaining guest researcher status at DLCE. He earned his PhD in philosophy from the Australian National University (2020) after withdrawing from King's College London (2015) and holds an M.Sci in Mathematics and Philosophy from the University of Bristol (UK).

• Current Affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (DLCE), Leipzig
• Previous Affiliations: University of Barcelona (LOGOS Group), University of Surrey (Surrey Morphology Group)
• Education: PhD (Philosophy) - Australian National University, M.Sci - University of Bristol

Stephen's research focuses on integrating agent-based models with historical data to analyze linguistic diversity in the Pacific. His work bridges teleosemantics, the free energy principle, and evolutionary biology, particularly examining biological signaling systems and their philosophical implications. He also explores the role of selection in cultural evolution and the application of communication theory to representation frameworks.

His recent publications span evolutionary modeling, AI ethics, and theoretical biology, with a thematic emphasis on information theory, cultural transmission, and computational methods. Stephen has guest-edited a topical collection on the free energy principle and actively promotes open science through tools like Evoke, a Python package for evolutionary signaling games.

• Scientific Awards: Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral fellowship
• Outreach Contributions: Articles in The Conversation, Life Beyond Us anthology, and AI ethics interviews