With degrees in philosophy and applied physics, Ioan Muntean is both a philosopher and a scientist. His research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of the philosophy of science, the philosophy of computation, epistemology, and applied ethics. In the philosophy of science, he works on unification, explanation, model-based reasoning, and metacognitive aspects of the practice of science. In the philosophy of physics, he investigates space-time models of unified field theories, the philosophical assumptions of quantum gravity (string theory, especially string dualities), and semi-classical models in quantum physics. He is highly interested in the philosophical aspects of cognitive science and computational science (numerical simulations, machine learning, and evolutionary computation). He has recently been investigating the emerging area of ‘computational ethics’ (or ‘machine ethics’) and models of artificial moral agency based on machine learning.
Professor Muntean conducts research and teaches on those topics which have a significant impact on our world and on how we pass it to future generations: philosophy of computation and information (AI and, more specifically, machine learning), philosophy of emerging technologies, as well as topics such as laws of nature, models, perspectival realism, trust, and unification. He teaches courses in the philosophy of science, logic, epistemology, philosophy of mind, and the ethics and epistemology of emerging technologies.