Human-Centered AI & Rightful Machines
I argue that autonomous AI should be constrained by rules of right and principles of justice, and that human-centered AI needs a substantive model of rational agency—not merely a model of preference.
Philosophy · Artificial Intelligence · Ethics
Ava Thomas Wright
I work on AI ethics, rational agency, political philosophy, law, and the social conditions of human freedom.
My research asks how AI can respect human freedom and rights, and how truth, expertise, and freedom of dispute sustain a legitimate civil society.
Associate Professor of Philosophy, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo · Affiliated Faculty, Computer Science & Software Engineering
Research
Two connected programs
Both center on the conditions under which people can remain free and rational agents in social and technological systems.
Truth, Free Speech & Civil Society
Drawing on Kant and Mill, I study veracity, scientific testimony, and freedom of dispute as complementary conditions for public knowledge and legitimate political life.
- AI & Humanity · CLA Summer Scholarship, 2026
- Scribere Aude (with AI!) · CSU AIEIC, with Jacob Sparks
- Untangling Debate · digital tools for argument mapping
- AI Ethics Lab · collaborative student research and writing
Selected work
Recent publications
A short selection; CV upon request.
- 2026“Defending the Logic of Kant’s Possible Universal Consent Standard of Justice”
- 2025“Models of Rational Agency in Human-Centered AI: The Realist and Constructivist Alternatives”
- 2024“A Deontic Logic for Programming Rightful Machines”
- 2021“Mill’s Social Epistemic Rationale for the Freedom to Dispute Scientific Knowledge”
Teaching
Autonomy, argument, and relationships
I use debate mapping, structured discussion, and close engagement with students to make difficult ideas more precise and productive. With generative AI, I focus especially on preserving the judgment and intellectual autonomy that education is meant to develop.
PHIL 300 · Philosophical Research & WritingPHIL 323 · Ethics, Science & TechnologyPHIL 333 · Political PhilosophyPHIL 334 · Philosophy of LawPHIL 401 · Structuralism & AIPHIL 439 · Advanced Seminars
Offical Cal Poly anonymous student evaluations of my teaching, both recent and overall, and by course. I provide this aggregate data primarily for prospective students considering taking one of my courses.
About
Philosophy across law, technology, and AI
Before academic philosophy, I studied law and founded a web-development company. I later earned both an M.S. in Artificial Intelligence and a Ph.D. in Philosophy at the University of Georgia, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in AI and Information Ethics at Northeastern.
At Cal Poly, I work across Philosophy and Computer Science & Software Engineering, direct the AI Ethics Lab, and contribute to university work on generative AI.
- Ph.D. Philosophy · University of Georgia
- M.S. Artificial Intelligence · University of Georgia
- J.D., cum laude · Georgia State University
- B.A. Philosophy · Rice University