Arzu Formánek, BSc in Mathematics, MA in Philosophy

Mail: arzu.formanek@univie.ac.at

  • Researcher at Fraunhofer IPA-Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation
  • PhD Candidate at University of Vienna

 

AREAS OF RESEARCH

Philosophy of Technology and Science  |  Philosophy of Engineering  Human-Robot Interaction  |  Robot Ethics  |  Cognitive Science  |  Social Interaction and Cognition  |  Interactivism and Affordances |  Automation and Industrial Design  Models and Concepts in Engineering  Intelligence.

 

PhD within FoNTI-PROJECT

Supervisors: Mark Coeckelbergh, Mark Bickhard

Advisors: Sven Nyholm

 

RESEARCH NETWORKS

Executive Board Member of IACAP-International Association of Computing and Philosophy

Co-Founder of Ethics of Technology Early-career Group (ETEG)

Member of Research Group: Philosophy of Media and Technology

Member of Research Network TRANSOR

 

PUBLICATIONS

  • Formanek, A. (2025). “Is It Wrong to Kick Kickable? Sociomorphing and Robotic Affordance Mixtures for Differentiation in Moral Status”. In Seibt et al. Social Robots with AI: Prospects, Risks, and Responsible Methods (pp. 199–209). IOS Press. doi.org/10.3233/FAIA241505
  • Formanek, Arzu (forthcoming). “Ecological Cognition and Robotic Affordance Mixtures in HRI: The ‘Kickable’ Challenge to Vice-Virtue Asymmetry of Moral Status”. In: Müller, V. C., Dewey, A. R., Dung, L., & Löhr, G. (Eds.). (forthcoming). Philosophy of Artificial Intelligence: The State of the Art. Synthese Library, Berlin: Springer Nature.
  • Gokmen, Arzu (2018). "Institutional Facts and AMAs in Society", Vincent C. Müller (ed.): Philosophy and Theory of Artificial Intelligence 2017; SAPERE 44; Berlin: Springer, pp. 248-251. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96448-5_26

 

PAST & UPCOMING TALKS

  • 07.2025 // Joint IACAP/AISB Conference on Philosophy of Computing and AI. Talk Title: ”What is Intelligence?”
  • 06.2025 // Invited Talk in LMU Munich: Talk Title: ”What is Intelligence? A Critical Categorization of Definitions Across Disciplines and the Quest for a Philosophy of Intelligence"
  • 04.2025 // Invited Guest Lecture in Introduction to Ethics of Robotics by Mark Coeckelbergh: Talk Title: “Robots with AI and Indirect Moral Status: Cognitive Scientific Approaches”.
  • 10.2024 // Invited Talk in Jülich Speaker Series in the Philosophy of Technology: Talk Title: "Robotic Affordance Mixtures and the ‘Kickable’ Challenge to Anthropomorphism in Early Robot Ethics"
  • 09.2024 // fPET 2024-Forum on Philosophy, Engineering, and Technology: Talk Title: "Are Biointelligent Systems Intelligent? The Onion Model for Biointelligence, and Philosophy of Intelligence"
  • 08.2024 // Robophilosophy Conference 2024: Talk Title: "Versatile Interactions with Robotic Affordances: Using the OASIS Framework and Sociomorphing to Bring Differentiation in the Indirect Moral Patiency Debate"
  • 07.2024 // IACAP-International Association of Computing and Philosophy Conference: Talk Title: "Are Biointelligent Systems Intelligent? Theoretical Challenges to Technology and Philosophy of Intelligence"
  • 06.2024 // Invited Guest Lecture in Introduction to Ethics of Robotics by Mark Coeckelbergh: Talk Title: "Indirect Robot Moral Patiency Debate and How to Bring in Cognitive Scientific Perspectives"
  • 12.2023 // Philosophy of AI Conference (PhAI 2023): Talk Title: "Is it wrong to kick Kickable 3.0? An affordance based approach to ethics of human-robot interaction". Centre for Philosophy and AI Research, FAU.
  • 08.2023 // MDAC Workshop-Machine Discovery and Creation: Talk Title: "Taking a Photograph, Making a Photograph, Generating a Photograph: an Ecological and Interactivist Approach to Photograph(er) as an Art(ist)". Leibniz University Hannover.
  • 07.2023 // IACAP-International Association of Computing and Philosophy Conference: Talk Title: "Is it wrong to kick Kickable 3.0? An affordance based approach to ethics of human-robot interaction".
  • 10.2022 // ESDIT-Ethics of Socially Disruptive Technologies Conference: Talk Title: "Problems with the Indirect Moral Patiency of Robots"--received the Best Talk Award.
  • 07.2022 // IACAP-International Association of Computing and Philosophy Conference: Talk Title: "Problems with the Indirect Moral Patiency of Robots".
  • 11.2021 // Invited talk at the Utrecht University "Robot Rights?!" Workshop: Talk Title: "Basing the Indirect Moral Patienthood of Robots on Sociomorphing".
  • 07.2021 // The Philosophy and Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (CEPE/IACAP 2021): Talk Title: "Ethical Behaviourism: Yet Another Property Based Approach for Machine Moral Status?" (Cancelled).
  • 06.2021 // The Society for Philosophy and Technology Conference (SPT-2021): Talk Title: "Implications of Sociomorphing for the Moral Status of Robots".
  • 02.2021 // R. L. Rabb Symposium on Embedding AI in Society: Talk Title: "Moral Status of Machines: A Critical Assessment of the Properties Approach and the Behavioral Criterion", NC State University, USA.
  • 10.2019 // Graduate Student Philosophy Workshop at Bogazici University: Talk Title: "Machine ethics: questions and objectives".
  • 07.2019 // Third Immanuel Kant International Summer School: Talk Title: "Predictive Processing and Transcendental Idealism", Kaliningrad.
  • 12.2018 // CIFAR Winter School of Neuroscience of Consciousness: Talk Title: "Intelligence vs Consciousness" (group presentation), Montebello, Canada.
  • 09.2018 // OpenSelf 2018: Poster Title: "Extended Self: Redefining the 'Others', arguing from Dynamical Systems and Free-energy Principle" (poster), Berlin, Germany.
  • 09.2017 // PT-AI 2017 Conference: Philosophy and Theory of Artificial Intelligence. Poster Title: “Institutional Facts and AI in Society” Leeds, UK.
  • 2017 // Spring School: Social Cognition, Emotion and Joint Action: Poster Title: “Rationality Constraint on Group Agency and Predictive Coding” (poster).
  • 2016 // 7th Annual University of Sussex Graduate Conference: Phenomenology, Science and Consciousness. Talk Title: “Deep Sleep: Phenomenal or Not?” (cancelled).
  • 2015 // Toward a Science of Consciousness Conference. Talk Title: “Experiential Paradox of Consciousness and Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem” Helsinki, Finland.

 

 

PARTICIPATION in TERM SCHOOLS

  • 2023 // Philosophy and Computer Science Summer School, Bayreuth, Germany.
  • 2021 // Dutch Research School of Philosophy (OZSW) Spring School on Moral Theory and Real Life by Fleur Jongepier and Sven Nyholm, (held online).
  • 2019 // Third Immanuel Kant International Summer School, Kaliningrad, Russia.
  • 2018 // Philosophy & Physical Computing Summer School at Virginia Tech, VA, USA.
  • 2018 // CIFAR Winter School of Neuroscience of Consciousness, Montebello, Canada.
  • 2017 // Spring School: Social Cognition, Emotion and Joint Action, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany.
  • 2017 // Masterclass on Predictive Coding and the Mind by Jakob Hohwy, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany.