#  Jeff Behrends 

Senior Lecturer, Department of Philosophy, Harvard University

 

 

 



   ![Jeff Behrends](/sites/g/files/omnuum9911/files/styles/hwp_4_5__480x600/public/2025-09/Jeff%20Behrends-2.png?itok=yh7eQpYy) 

 



 

 laptop\_windows [Department of Philosophy Profile](https://philosophy.fas.harvard.edu/people/jeff-behrends) 

 

 



 

Jeff Behrends received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and then taught for three years at Illinois State University before joining Harvard in 2016. He has published in a diverse range of ethical subfields, including axiology, meta-ethics, normative ethics, applied ethics, and applied political philosophy. His current research interests concern metaethics, especially regarding the nature of practical reasons, and the applied ethics of computing technology, especially regarding the design, development, and use of AI. He formerly served as co-Director of Embedded EthiCS @ Harvard University and as the Director of Ethics and Technology Initiatives at the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Ethics, and is now a faculty advisor to both.

*Behrends was our inaugural Ethics and Technology Fellow in 2018-19, and his fellowship was supported in part by the Center for Research on Computation and Society. He served as a Faculty Associate from 2017 to 2023 and has been a member of the Faculty Committee since 2024.*



 

 

 





 

 

- ## Current Role
    
     [Faculty Committee](/current-role/faculty-committee)