Virginia Dignum
I am Professor of Responsible Artificial Intelligence at the Department of Computing Science at Umeå University, Sweden, where I lead the AI Policy Lab .
I am Wallenberg Scholar (2024) and Senior Advisor on AI Policy to the Wallenberg Foundations. I am a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA), and Fellow of the European Artificial Intelligence Association (EURAI) and of ELLIS (European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems). I am also Guest Professor at the Civic AI Lab, University of Amsterdam, and Honorary Professoral Fellow at the University of Melbourne.
Given the increasing importance of understanding the societal, ethical, and legal impact of AI, I am deeply involved in international AI governance, policy, and strategy initiatives. I am currently co-chair of the ACM Tech Policy Council, member of UNESCO’s High-Level Expert Group on the Implementation of the UNESCO AI Ethics Recommendation, and member of the OECD Expert Group on AI Futures. I am also founder of ALLAI, the Dutch AI Alliance, and former member of the United Nations High-Level Advisory Body on AI, the European Commission High-Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence, and co-chair of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on Artificial Intelligence. As part of UNESCO’s AI Ethics Experts Without Borders, I advise governments worldwide on the development and operationalization of national AI strategies.
My research focuses on the interconnections between people, organizations, technology, and policy, with a strong emphasis on responsible and governance-aware AI systems. My work spans from formal and computational models of agency, norms, and institutions to applied AI policy, evaluation frameworks, and socio-technical system design, combining theory, engineering, and methodological design.
I have held major leadership roles in the AI research community, including Program Chair of AAMAS 2024 and Ethics Chair of AAAI 2024, and I currently serve on multiple international advisory boards and expert panels.
In recognition of my work, I am recipient of the AI Policy Leader 2025 Award (CAIDP), AI and Ethics Professional of the Year 2022, and the Medal of Honour of the City of Oeiras (Portugal). I have published over 300 peer-reviewed articles with over 19,000 citations. My newest book, The AI Paradox, is published by Princeton University Press (2026).
I regularly speak internationally on AI ethics, governance, and policy, advise public and private organizations, and contribute to major journals, conferences, and policy processes.
I also actively communicate about AI and its societal impact and can be followed on LinkedIn or Bluesky, or through my blog Thinking in Public.
