{"id":26,"date":"2017-08-20T21:07:16","date_gmt":"2017-08-21T01:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/jcruz\/?page_id=26"},"modified":"2026-03-16T19:43:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T23:43:04","slug":"research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/jcruz\/research\/","title":{"rendered":"Research"},"content":{"rendered":"

S e l e c t e d\u00a0 P u b l i c a t i o n s<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 “Shared Moral Foundations of Embodied Artificial Intelligence<\/a>” (2019) – Proceedings of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u2014 “Parsimony and the Triple System Model of Concepts” (2011, with Safa Zaki<\/span><\/a>) (commentary in\u00a0Behavioral and Brain Sciences<\/i> 33(2)).<\/p>\n

\u2014 “Is There a Reason for Skepticism?<\/span><\/a>” – (2010) In Knowledge and Skepticism<\/i> (O’Rourke and Campbell, eds.).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 “The Chimerical Appeal of Epistemic Externalism<\/span><\/a>” (2004, with John Pollock) – In The Externalist Challenge<\/i> (Richard Schantz, ed.).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 “Epistemology<\/span><\/a>” and “Simulation Theory<\/span><\/a>” (2003) – Entries in the Nature Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science<\/i> (the latter written with Bob Gordon<\/span><\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u2014 Contemporary Theories of Knowledge<\/i>, (Rowman & Littlefield, 1999) co-authored with\u00a0John Pollock,<\/span><\/a>\u00a0friend, mentor, and collaborator.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 “Mindreading: Mental State Ascription & Cognitive Architecture<\/span><\/a>” (Mind & Language<\/i>, 13(3), 1998).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

S e l e c t e d \u00a0 T a l k s \u00a0 & \u00a0 P u b l i c \u00a0 L\u00a0e c t u r e s<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014\u201cHow Does Having a Body Make a Difference?\u201d University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, 2025.<\/p>\n

Abstract
\nThe embodied cognition (EC) research program in cognitive science maintains that understanding mind requires taking the body seriously. On this view, no purely mentalist or internal-state account\u2014and certainly no abstract computational model\u2014can fully capture how biological minds work. In its most radical form, EC holds that the proper unit of explanation for intelligence is the whole organism acting within an environment and in interaction with others. In this talk, I ask what difference the body is supposed to make. Why aren\u2019t representations of bodily states enough? Could a virtual body suffice? And in the case of disembodied generative AI, might a world model derived from the language of embodied beings be enough? I argue that embodiment does make a genuine difference, though saying precisely why turns out to be more difficult than it first appears. Handout<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014 “Artificial Intelligence and Ethics” – AI: Philosophy, Ethics and Society, Tehran, Iran, 2019.<\/p>\n

Abstract
In this talk, I aim to make explicit how artificial intelligence is a distinct area of moral study separate from wider discussions of technology. The opacity and autonomy of reasons\u00a0that AIs employ makes them moral agents in their own right, and we need to consider this agency in relation to ours. That consideration applies, of course, to future maximally\u00a0sophisticated artificial general intelligence, but also to the proto-AI systems that presently have a significant presence in our lives.\u00a0Overall, I argue that the most pessimistic worries\u00a0about AI are overstated. In order to achieve intelligence in its full generality, AIs will need to be embodied and will therefore share our moral foundations, namely coordination,\u00a0sociality, and\u00a0acknowledgement of shared resources.<\/p>\n

\u2014 “Shared Moral Foundations of Embodied Artificial Intelligence” – AAAI\/ACM Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and Society, 2019.<\/p>\n

\u2014 “Knowing How to Reason” – Epistemic Virtues and Epistemic Skills Conference, 2017.<\/p>\n

\u2014 “Attention and Reason” – The Intersection of Epistemology and Philosophy of Mind Conference, 2015.<\/p>\n

\u2014 “Why There Is No Mind\/Body Problem<\/span><\/a>” – TEDx Williams, Winter 2014.<\/p>\n

\u2014 “Irrational Thought” – First Conference in Honor of John Pollock, 2012.<\/p>\n

\u2014 “Two Worlds” – Models of Mind Gallery Talk, Williams College Museum of Art, 2010.<\/p>\n

\u2014 “Knowing One’s Mind” – Campus faculty lecture, Spring 2007. Podcast<\/span>, transcript.<\/span><\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

P o p u l a r \u00a0 A<\/span>\u00a0u d i e n c e \u00a0 W r i t i n g<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014 “Knowledge and Reasons<\/span><\/a>” (2013) Philosophy Now<\/i>. Vol 96, May\/June, 19-22. <\/span><\/p>\n

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S e l e c t e d\u00a0 P u b l i c a t i o n s \u2014 “Shared Moral Foundations of Embodied Artificial Intelligence” (2019) – Proceedings of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. \u2014 “Parsimony and the Triple System Model of Concepts” (2011, with Safa Zaki) (commentary in\u00a0Behavioral … Continue reading “Research”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":862,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-26","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/jcruz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/26","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/jcruz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/jcruz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/jcruz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/862"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/jcruz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26"}],"version-history":[{"count":28,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/jcruz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/26\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":338,"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/jcruz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/26\/revisions\/338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.williams.edu\/jcruz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}