Mathias Risse

Mathias Risse is Berthold Beitz Professor in Human Rights, Global Affairs and Philosophy and Director of the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights at Harvard University. His research is primarily in political philosophy and philosophy of technology, and he is currently at work on a book on Indigenous philosophies. In political philosophy his work has addressed questions of global justice ranging from human rights, inequality, taxation, trade, and immigration to climate change, obligations to future generations. In the philosophy of technology Risse has recently offered a comprehensive account of political theory of the digital age. He has also worked on questions in ethics, decision theory and 19th century German philosophy, especially Nietzsche. He is the author or co-author of six books, including the 2012 On Global Justice and most recently the 2023 Political Theory of the Digital Age: Where Artificial Intelligence Might Take Us. At HKS Risse has taught extensively both in degree programs and in executive education, including a regular week-long open-enrollment program called Emerging Leaders.

In addition to HKS, Risse teaches in Harvard College and the Harvard Extension School, and is affiliated with the Philosophy Department, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, the Center for European Studies, and the Advanced Leadership Initiative (ALI). He served as the Co-Director of Graduate Studies at the Edmond J Safra Center for Ethics for about a decade and is currently the Director of the Program on the Ethics of Emerging Technologies there. He also is the Director of the McCloy program, a fellowship program for German students.