About
I’m a doctoral student at Bayreuth University, supervised by Prof. Johanna Thoma. I hope to figure out how democratic, decision-theoretical and ethical principles can guide the rules we set for artificial intelligence systems.
In particular, my current research is centered on finding out who should have a voice in how we govern AI today; how we can aggregate these voices into common goals; and how we can shape these goals into effective policy.
I have previously worked in - and am still deeply curious about - economic, technology and security policy. Building on that experience, I try to contribute my research and opinions to the German and EU policymaking process. Nowadays, that happens mostly via my work with KIRA.
Feel free to reach out at anton[at]leicht[dot]me !
Writing
If you want to get a better idea of what I’m thinking about, you might be interested in looking at some of the following writing:
To be updated soon!
I recently wrote down some thoughts on the economic considerations surrounding artificial intelligence foundation model regulation in Europe.
Pegah Maham and I wrote an article in Internationale Politik on the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence and how effective, control-focused regulation can best harness them.
In my MSc dissertation (pending publication) at LSE, I thought about how we can apply democratic voting rules to situations where we are unsure which moral guidelines to follow.
CV
Bayreuth & Freiburg University
current
At Bayreuth University, I am a doctoral student in the philosophy department focusing on democratic governance of artificial intelligence. My supervisor is Prof. Johanna Thoma. I also work with Freiburg University’s interdisciplinary research cluster ‘Adaptive Governance of Emerging Technologies’.
I work with KIRA as a policy specialist, doing strategy, research and political outreach on AI policy in Germany and the EU.
KIRA - Center for AI Risks and Impacts
current
Berlin Global Advisors
Berlin Global Advisors is a Geopolitics and Government Affairs advisory firm. I worked on political analysis and lobbying surrounding legislative, legal and governmental processes in Berlin and Brussels, focusing on technology, economic and foreign policy.
Bundestag
As a policy advisor in the Bundestag, Germany’s Federal Parliament, I worked on a range of topics, mostly in economic, geoeconomic and energy policy.
London School of Economics
As a MSc student in Philosophy and Public Policy, I mostly thought about normative uncertainty, decision theory, population ethics and artificial intelligence. I wrote my MSc thesis on a novel democratic approach to normative uncertainty.
Competitive Debating
I was fairly active in competitive debating for a while. Next to some national and international competition, I served as vice-president and president to the Association of German-Speaking Debating Societies.
University of Münster
As a BA student in Philosophy, I read about a range of topics in philosophy and policy. I wrote my BA thesis on decision theory and moral uncertainty.