LECTURER - Philosophy and AI Michael (Mike) Zahorec received a PhD in Philosophy (2026) and MS in Computer Science (2025) from Florida State University. At the University of Georgia, he is jointly appointed in the Department of Philosophy and the Institute for Artificial Intelligence (IAI). Zahorec has two main strands of research. The first is at the intersection of the epistemology and ethics of AI, focusing on interpretability; explanations of AI systems (XAI); and responsible AI use, deployment, and development. The second, in philosophy of science, investigates the nature and grounding of scientific kinds, concepts, and classifications. Besides philosophy of science and the philosophy and ethics of AI, Zahorec has research and teaching interests in the philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of action, cognitive science, and the theory and history of AI. Education Education: Ph.D. PhilosophyFlorida State UniversityDissertation: Scientific Kinds, Knowledge, and OntologyM.S. Computer ScienceFlorida State UniversityThesis: Assessing the Explainability of Large Language ModelsM.A. PhilosophyFlorida State UniversityB.M.E. Mechanical Engineering and PhilosophyUniversity of Dayton Selected Publications Selected Publications: AI as Idea Generator [Forthcoming]Artificial Intelligence in Research & Education, AI & Society, Oxford University Press. Editors M. Dennis, V. Sikimić, P. Hacker. Understanding AI: Concepts, Aims, Prospects [Forthcoming]Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence. Springer. Editors D. Černý, V. Mařík, and J. Wiedermann. Linguistic Corpora and Ordinary Language: On the Dispute Between Ryle and Austin About the Use of ‘Voluntary’, ‘Involuntary’, ‘Voluntarily’, and ‘Involuntarily’ [2023]M. Zahorec (Primary), R. Bishop, N. Hansen, J. Schwenkler, J. Sytsma. Experimental Philosophy of Language: Perspectives, Methods and Prospects. Springer. Editor David Bordonaba-Plou. https://philpapers.org/rec/ZAHLCA. Courses Taught Courses Regularly Taught: PHIL/ARTI/PSYC 3550 PHIL/CSCI 4550/6550
