Nita Farahany
AI Ethicist and Neuroscientist
Nita A. Farahany is the Robinson O. Everett Distinguished Professor of Law & Philosophy and Founding Director of the Duke Initiative for Science & Society. She is a widely published scholar on the ethics of emerging technologies, and author of the book The Battle for Your Brain: Defending Your Right to Think Freely in the Age of Neurotechnology.
Farahany is a frequent commentator for national media and radio, and a keynote speaker at events including TED, Aspen Ideas Festival, World Economic Forum, and judicial conferences worldwide.
From 2010-2017, she served as a Commissioner on the U.S. Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. She is a member of many councils and committees, including the National Institute for Neurological Disease and Stroke, the American Law Institute, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the International Neuroethics Society. Farahany is also an ELSI (ethical, legal, and social implications) advisor to the NIH Brain Initiative and to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and a member of both the Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders and Standon Biotechnology Capabilities and National Security Needs for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She is a member of the Global Future Council on Frontier Risks and Expert Network for the World Economic Forum. She served as reporter for the Uniform Determination of Death Committee for the Uniform Law Commission.
In 2022, Farahany was appointed by Governor Roy Cooper to the North Carolina Delegation for the Uniform Law Commission, and currently serves in that capacity. She is a co-editor-in-chief and co-founder of the Journal of Law and the Biosciences and on the Board of Advisors for Scientific American. She also serves on scientific and ethics advisory boards for corporations.
Farahany received her AB in Genetics, Cell, and Developmental Biology from Dartmouth College, an ALM in biology from Harvard University, and a JD and MA from Duke University, as well as a Ph.D. in philosophy.
Farahany is a frequent commentator for national media and radio, and a keynote speaker at events including TED, Aspen Ideas Festival, World Economic Forum, and judicial conferences worldwide.
From 2010-2017, she served as a Commissioner on the U.S. Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues. She is a member of many councils and committees, including the National Institute for Neurological Disease and Stroke, the American Law Institute, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the International Neuroethics Society. Farahany is also an ELSI (ethical, legal, and social implications) advisor to the NIH Brain Initiative and to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and a member of both the Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders and Standon Biotechnology Capabilities and National Security Needs for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. She is a member of the Global Future Council on Frontier Risks and Expert Network for the World Economic Forum. She served as reporter for the Uniform Determination of Death Committee for the Uniform Law Commission.
In 2022, Farahany was appointed by Governor Roy Cooper to the North Carolina Delegation for the Uniform Law Commission, and currently serves in that capacity. She is a co-editor-in-chief and co-founder of the Journal of Law and the Biosciences and on the Board of Advisors for Scientific American. She also serves on scientific and ethics advisory boards for corporations.
Farahany received her AB in Genetics, Cell, and Developmental Biology from Dartmouth College, an ALM in biology from Harvard University, and a JD and MA from Duke University, as well as a Ph.D. in philosophy.
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