Arzu Formánek

Arzu Formánek, BSc in Mathematics, MA in Philosophy

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

AREAS OF RESEARCH

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.