Welcome to Dr. Brandt Dainow’s website

Hi and thanks for visiting.  This is a human-AI collaborative website.

This site contains papers and articles written by Dr Dainow (a human) and an occassional blog written by OpenAI (a machine).

This website contains information about Dr Dainow’s research, publications and technical work.

ROLES:

  • EU Ethics Expert on Artificial Intelligence
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, Maynooth University, Ireland

EU Ethics Expert on Artificial Intelligence

Dr. Brandt Dainow is an EU Ethics Expert on Artificial Intelligence (https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/experts) for the European Research Council Executive Agency (Expert ID: EX2021D419706).  There he undertakes ethical evaluation of AI research for various funding programs, including Horizon Europe, EIC Pathfinder and the MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship program. He also undertakes development of ethical evaluation protocols for European Commission and training of European Commission staff in AI ethics.

Brandt was one of the lead authors on the EU’s AI_Guidelines for Horizon Europe, which provides ethical requirements for Horizon 2020 funding of artificial intelligence research.  This work was encompassed in his role as a post-doctoral researcher in the Sienna Project.  He is active in the IEEE for developing standards for ethical AI.  He was a member of the IEEE Working Group for the IEEE 7000 standard (Model Process for Addressing Ethical Concerns During System Design) – the standard is now complete.  He is currently a member of the IEEE 7014 Working Group for Emulated Empathy In Autonomous And Intelligent Systems Working Group, whose work is in early stages.

Assistant Professor, Computer Science, Maynooth University, Ireland

Dr Dainow’s research focuses on the digital ethics of future technologies, especially Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things and the Smart City.

Brandt has a PhD in ICT Ethics and Futurology, combining Computer Science and Philosophy.

As a philosopher, Brandt seeks contact with people interested in extending our understanding of the artificial and ambient intelligence.  His specialty is ICT ethics focused on autonomy and futurology, primarily via General Systems Theory.  He is the creator of Integrated Domain Theory.

He provides occasional teaching in AI ethics and ICT ethics to various universities around the EU, most frequently Maynooth University’s Philosophy Department and Computer Science Departments.

Other Notes

Formerly President of the Irish Chapter of the Internet Society, he was one of the key leaders in the successful resistance to the Internet Society’s efforts to sell the .org domain name system, which is intended for non-profits and charities, to an hidden group of billionaires (see The PIR sale).

Dr. Dainow writes for the business community on issues relating to web analytics, digital marketing and search engine optimisation. His aim is to provide actionable information founded on common sense and a deep regard for the bottom line.


Publications

Peer-reviewed Research

The research section contains Brandt’s philosophical musings and publications.

The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence – the SIENNA Project

Brandt was a post-doctoral researcher on the SIENNA Project, which investigated the ethical issues of artificial intelligence and developed .  Brandt’s role was the development of concrete responses, including ethical review guidelines for research projects (now officially adopted by the EU), and plans for EU certification and licensing programs.

Official EU Guideline and recommendation documents which he authored can be found on the Ethical AI page.

Popular Articles

Brandt Dainow has been a regular contributing journalist in Web Analysis and Digital Marketing in iMedia Connection since 2002, ranging from introductory articles for the beginner to in-depth analyses of statistical methodologies in the field of web analytics. Here you will find Brandt’s most frequently cited non-peer reviewed article: “Necessary Inaccuracies in Web Analytics”.

Brandt is a regular contributor to RTE Brainstorm.

Many of these articles are reproduced in this website.


Research Background

Brandt completed a 5-year PhD by Publication at the Maynooth University’s department of Computer Science in 2019. This research examined the threats to human autonomy generated by emerging ICT’s, such as Smart Cities and the Internet of Things.  Brandt was grateful for a Hume Scholarship to fund this research.  His central methodology is philosophical, but he incorporates empirical research within a sociological context to determine the “what is” from which to draw philosophical conclusions. More details of Brandt’s philosophical activity can be found in his RESEARCH page.

Since then he has pursued research into the ethical assessment of AI systems, primarily as a lead developer of AI Ethics by Design, while continuing to develop Integrated Domain Theory.