Professor Maclaurin is a member of the Department of Philosophy and Associate Dean for Research in the Humanities at the University of Otago.
He received his Doctorate in Philosophy of Science from the Australian National University. A longstanding advocate for Humanities education, he was instrumental in the development of the University of Otago’s Bachelor of Arts and Science degree. His research focusses on conceptual and ethical issues posed by scientific innovation as well as the process of distilling academic research into public policy in disciplines such as public health, economics, ecology, computer and information science.
He is co-director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Public Policy and co-signatory to the University of Otago’s memorandum of understanding on research into the social, ethical and legal effects of AI, with the New Zealand Government Department of Internal Affairs. He is a principal investigator on the Artificial Intelligence and Law in New Zealand Project which is funded under the New Zealand Law Foundation’s Information Law and Policy Project. He is also a member of the Bioethics Panel for Predator Free New Zealand 2050.
[December 2018]