Jesse Kirkpatrick is a Research Associate Professor and the Acting Director of the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at George Mason University. He is an International Security Fellow at New America and serves in Noblis Inc’s. Responsible Artificial Intelligence Committee; AI Review Board; and Biosafety and Bioethics Committee.

Jesse’s research focuses on the ethics of peace and security, with an emphasis on the ethical, social, and policy implications of emerging technologies. His research is interdisciplinary, cutting across such fields as Philosophy, Political Science, Public Policy, and the Life and Computer Sciences. At its core, it aims to explore two central, interrelated themes: (1) how a suite of technologies, singularly and in convergence, impact peace and security, and (2) what the ethical, social, and policy implications of these impacts may be. Representative areas of technology that Jesse’s research has addressed include, AI and autonomy, biotechnology, and tele-operated systems.

​Jesse received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, and prior to joining the Institute Jesse was an Assistant Professor at Radford University and a Research Fellow at the US Naval Academy. His work has appeared in numerous journals including, Ethics; Journal of Military Ethics; Journal of Human Rights. Jesse’s work has also appeared in Special Warfare Magazine, Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, and Slate. His current book, Drones, Robots, and Super Soldiers: Emerging Technologies and Military Virtue, is under contract by Harvard University Press.

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