Cody Turner

Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Bentley University · Department of Philosophy

I am a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Bentley University. From August 2024 to August 2025, I was a postdoctoral research fellow on AI and Human Cognition at the Applied Ethics Center and the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Before that, I was a postdoctoral fellow in the Notre Dame-IBM Tech Ethics Lab at the University of Notre Dame from August 2022 to August 2024.

I obtained a Ph.D. from the Department of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut in June 2022 and a BA in philosophy from the College of William & Mary in May 2017. My areas of specialization include philosophy of technology, AI ethics, and virtue epistemology. My research exists at the intersection of these subfields, focusing on artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, social media, and neurotechnology.

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Publications

Forthcoming

Programmed to Please: The Moral and Epistemic Harms of AI Sycophancy

with Nir Eisikovits · AI and Ethics

2025

Choosing Less Harmful Alternatives: The Ethics of Harm Reduction in Emerging Technologies

Science and Engineering Ethics: 1–21

Neural Nexus: The Philosophy and Governance of Neurotechnology

IEET White Papers: 1–33

Intellectual Humility without Open-Mindedness: How to Respond to Extremist Views

with Katie Peters and Heather Battaly · Episteme: 1–23

2023

Online Echo Chambers, Online Epistemic Bubbles, and Open Mindedness

Episteme: 1–26

The Metaverse: Virtual Metaphysics, Virtual Governance, and Virtual Abundance

Philosophy & Technology, 36, 67: 1–8

2022

Neuromedia, Cognitive Offloading, and Intellectual Perseverance

Synthese 200, 66: 1–26

HoloFoldit and Hologrammatically Extended Cognition

Philosophy & Technology 35: 1–9

Augmented Reality, Augmented Epistemology, and the Real-World Web

Philosophy & Technology 35, 19: 1–28

2021

The Extended Mind Argument Against Phenomenal Intentionality

Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences 21: 747–774

2020

The Cognitive Phenomenology Argument for Disembodied AI Consciousness

in The Age of Artificial Intelligence: An Exploration, Vernon Press: 111–132

Could You Merge with AI? Reflections on the Singularity and Radical Brain Enhancement

with Susan Schneider · in The Oxford Handbook of Ethics of AI, Oxford University Press: 307–326

Works in Progress

Article on AI opacity, virtue reliabilism, and extended knowledge Under Review

Article on virtual avatars, narrative identity, and the extended self Under Review

Article on privacy in VR Under Review

Article on extended digital memory, narrative identity, and the right to be forgotten In Progress

Article on AI and intellectual humility In Progress

Editorial Work

Associate Editor, Journal of Ethics and Emerging Technologies

Editor, The Ethics and Politics of Neuroenhancement: Brain-Computer Interfaces and Emerging Neurotechnologies

2nd Volume of The Politics of Human Enhancement Series, De Gruyter (in progress)

Featured Talks

Keynote Address · Spring 2025

Thinking Together: The Promise and Peril of Human-AI Co-Intelligence

Annual UMass Boston Conference on Teaching, Learning, and Technology

Watch on YouTube

Tian Family Endowed Lecture Series poster featuring Dr. Cody Turner

Invited Lecture · Spring 2023

The Ethics of Emerging AI Assistant Devices

Tian Family Endowed Lecture Series · Berkshire School

Teaching

Bentley University

Love, Sex, and Robots (PH 162)

Department of Philosophy

Spring 2026 (ongoing)

AI, Technology, and Values (PH 160)

Department of Philosophy

Fall 2025

University of Massachusetts, Boston

Digital Selves: Ethics and Identity in Emerging Technologies (Honors 292)

Honors College

Spring 2025

University of Notre Dame

Fundamentals of Technology Ethics and Society (TEC 20101)

Fall 2023, Spring 2024

Internet Ethics (TEC 33997)

Spring 2023 – Spring 2024

University of Connecticut

Contemporary Issues in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE 3000)

Fall 2019 – Spring 2022

Problems of Philosophy (PHIL 1101)

Summer 2021, Spring 2022

Social Ethics (PHIL 1104)

Fall 2020

Duke University Talent Identification Program

Philosophy in Literature and Film

Summer 2018, Summer 2019

Ethics and the Little White Lie

Summer 2018

Podcasts

Tent Talks Podcast

Creator & Host

Spring 2018 – Present

A podcast exploring philosophical questions at the intersection of technology, ethics, and the human condition. Topics range from AI consciousness and virtual reality to social media, neurotechnology, and the future of the mind.

Apple Podcasts TuneIn

Ethics in Action Podcast

Guest Host — BCI Mini-Series

September 2024 – Present

Guest host on the Ethics in Action podcast for a mini-series on Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI). The series examines the philosophical and ethical dimensions of emerging neurotechnologies, from medical applications to human enhancement.

Full Archive on Podbean Apple Podcasts

Prosthetic Gods Podcast

Guest Appearance — “Griefbots” Episode

AI Clones & Digital Afterlife

Guest appearance on the Prosthetic Gods podcast discussing “griefbots” — AI clones of deceased loved ones — and the ethical, philosophical, and emotional dimensions of digital afterlife technologies.

Spotify Listen on Podbean

Curriculum Vitae

Download Full CV (PDF)

Academic Positions

Fall 2025 – present

Tenure-Track Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Bentley University, Department of Philosophy

2024 – 2025

Postdoctoral Research Fellow on AI and Human Cognition

Applied Ethics Center & Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies, University of Massachusetts, Boston

2022 – 2024

Postdoctoral Fellow

Notre Dame–IBM Tech Ethics Lab, University of Notre Dame

Education

June 2022

Ph.D. in Philosophy

University of Connecticut (2017–2022)

Thesis: A Virtue Epistemology of Brain-Computer Interface and Augmented Reality Technology
Committee: Michael P. Lynch (advisor), Susan Schneider, Heather Battaly

May 2017

B.A. in Philosophy, summa cum laude

College of William & Mary (2013–2017)

Phi Beta Kappa · Philosophy GPA: 4.0

Fellowships & Affiliations

2025 – present

Research Fellow

Applied Ethics Center, UMass Boston

2021 – present

Future of Consciousness Fellow

Center for the Future of Mind, AI, & Society, Florida Atlantic University