Luciano Floridi, Professor of Philosophy and Ethics of Information at the University of Oxford, Director of the Digital Ethics Lab of the Oxford Internet Institute, and Distinguished Research Fellow of the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at Oxford, as well as Professor of Philosophy and Legal Studies at the University of Bologna, has been awarded the Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (Knight of the Grand Cross, first class) by Italy’s president, Sergio Mattarella.

The Cavaliere di Gran Croce Ordine al Merito is the highest honor the Italian government bestows (on people who are not heads of state). Dr. Floridi was recognized for his well-known work on philosophical problems related to information technology. Interviewed following his receipt of the award, he said:

More than 30 years ago, I started looking at the digital impact on people’s lives, addressing the conceptual and ethical issues generated by the information revolution. Now, we hear about such issues every day – in terms of privacy and freedom of expression, artificial intelligence and driverless cars, apps and drones, web and metaverse, cryptocurrencies and cybersecurity, and so on. No aspect of our lives has remained untouched by the digital revolution. So there is a constant flow of new intellectual challenges and ethical problems that must be addressed by contemporary philosophy.

He received the award yesterday in a ceremony at the Quirinal Palace in Rome.