Dr Thomas Ferretti PhD, MA, BA, FHEA

Senior Lecturer in Ethics and Sustainable Business

Dr Thomas Ferretti is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Greenwich.

He specialises in the ethics of business and artificial intelligence (AI). His research aims at applying insights from ethical theories, political philosophy, and social sciences to the governance of business and emerging technologies. His current project develops ethical guidelines for AI applications in workplaces. Ultimately, the goal of his research is to inform real-world efforts towards a fair and inclusive economy.

Before Greenwich, he taught for five years at the London School of Economics (LSE) (2018-23) and held a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship at the LSE and the University of Toronto (2016-18). At these institutions, he was responsible for teaching lectures on the ethics of business and finance, and the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI), as well as tutorials on decision theory, public policy analysis, and economic methodology.

In 2019, Dr Ferretti became a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) after completing the LSE Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education. He is an enthusiastic educator committed to diverse, inclusive, and research-based teaching, always striving to provide the best learning environment for students of all backgrounds. His commitment to teaching excellence and innovation is evidenced by the LSE Excellence in Education Award (2020).

In 2016, he received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Louvain (Belgium), with a dissertation on theories of justice, economic inequalities, and the distributive impact of worker cooperatives. Before that, he earned a BA and MA in Philosophy from the University of Montreal (Canada).

Specialization: Normative Ethics - Political Philosophy - Business Ethics - AI Ethics
Competence: Decision Theory - Policy & Regulation - Sustainability - Philosophy of Economics

Business and management

Business and management studies

Responsibilities within the university

Research

  • Research interests in political philosophy, business ethics, and corporate social responsibility
  • Research project developing ethical guidelines for AI applications in workplaces

Teaching

  • BUSI-1772 Ethics and Global Corporate Citizenship (Module Leader)
  • Expert Speaker on the Help to Grow management programme
  • Supervising MBA and PhD dissertations

Leadership and Administration

  • Programme co-leader and curriculum design for the new Executive MBA (EMBA)
  • Programme co-leader and curriculum design for the new Senior Leader Higher Apprenticeship (SLHA)
  • Developing modules on Ethics and Global Corporate Citizenship and Ethics of AI in Business

Awards

Teaching awards

  • 2020: LSE Excellence in Education Award 2020, Eden Centre for Education Enhancement, UK - This award acknowledges the work done to enhance education and improve student experience at LSE
  • 2019: LSE Student-Led Teaching Excellence Award 2019, UK - Highly Commended nominee in the category: Sharing Subject Knowledge

Recognition

Research Funding

  • 2016-2018: Postdoctoral Research Scholarship, FRQSC, Quebec, Canada (60.000 $ CAD)
  • 2016-2017: Postdoctoral Fellowship Award, FAS, University of Toronto, Canada (45.000 $ CAD)
  • 2012-2016: WBI International Scholarship, Brussels, Belgium (36.000 € EUR)
  • 2011-2015: J.-A. Bombardier Graduate Scholarship, SSHRC, Canada (80.000 $ CAD)
  • 2011: PhD: Doctoral Research Scholarship, FRQSC, Quebec, Canada (declined) (60.000 $ CAD)
  • 2010-2011: Master Research Scholarship, FRQSC, Quebec, Canada (15.000 $ CAD)
  • 2009-2010: J.-A.Bombardier Graduate Scholarship, SSHRC, Canada (17.500 $ CAD)

External Affiliations

  • 2022-present : Member of the Society for Applied Philosophy (N9012756827), UK
  • 2019-present : Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA: PR178157), UK
  • 2016-present : Associate Member of the Hoover Chair of Economic and Social Ethics, Louvain, BE

Research / Scholarly interests

Theories of distributive justice and inequality

A key insight from leading liberal philosophers of the late 20th century is that moral principles that may guide our personal lives should not always be the same as political principles governing social and economic life. The reason is that we live in pluralistic societies in which people have different moral beliefs, preferences, and interests. Therefore, while we should be free to live our personal life according to our own beliefs, socio-economic institutions should abide by ‘public’ standards of justice relying on consensus or compromise. This research project investigates principles of justice and fairness, with a focus on issues of distributive justice and inequality. I have recently published papers on liberal egalitarian conceptions of justice, public reason, and the indexing problem.

Democracy and fairness in economic organizations

Economic organizations have an important impact on individuals and societies. Firms organise production and work schedules, distribute income, power, and responsibilities, they impact domestic life and consumption habits, and large organisations often influence politics and society. As a result, they are sometimes the source of profound injustices but can also be part of the solution. This project investigates how the structure, ownership, and regulation of economic organizations impact fairness and inequality in society. I am currently writing a paper in favour of policies promoting more egalitarian organizations such as worker cooperatives. I have previously published papers on workplace democracy and inequalities in the gig economy. This project also informs my teaching in business ethics.

Ethics of artificial intelligence and information technology

Artificial intelligence and information technology are increasingly used by states and businesses to engage in data analytics, and to help make a wide range of difficult decisions from individuals’ eligibility to social benefits and prison sentences in the justice system to workplace analytics and content moderation on social media. They also have the potential to disrupt labour markets by fuelling a new wave of automation and algorithmic management. We must think about how to use these technologies in a way that benefits everyone and avoids harmful effects. This project investigates the collaboration of governments and businesses in the governance of AI. I have published papers and blog posts on AI ethics and business ethics and co-built the LSE Masterclass on the Ethics of AI.

Recent publications

Work-in- progress

  • Revising the priority of basic liberties.
  • Protecting employee privacy in the age of workplace analytics.
  • The distributive case for promoting federations of worker cooperatives.

Scholarly publications

  • Ferretti, T. (2022) Justice between individuals: John Rawls and the demands of political liberalism, The Tocqueville Review 43(1): pp. 147–180 | doi:10.3138/ttr.43.1.147
  • Ferretti, T. (2022) Measuring freedom: Towards a solution to John Rawls’ indexing problem, Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics 15(1): pp. 1-31 | doi:10.23941/ejpe.v15i1.538
  • Ferretti, T. (2022) An institutionalist approach to AI Ethics: Justifying the priority of government regulation over self-regulation, Moral Philosophy and Politics 9(2): 239-265 | doi:10.1515/mopp-2020-0056
  • Ferretti, T. (forthcoming) Are bicameral firms preferable to codetermination or worker cooperatives?, in T. Malleson & J. Rogers (eds.) Democratizing the Corporation, Verso, coll. Real Utopias Project, with A. Gosseries (accepted: 3/11/21)
  • Ferretti, T. (2020) A liberal egalitarian perspective on the platform economy: Mitigating its distributive effects or changing the organizations running it?, Journal of Social Philosophy 51(1): pp. 54-79 | doi:10.1111/josp.12330
  • Ferretti, T. (2018) “Philippe Van Parijs” (pp. 1633-1638) and “Coopératives” (pp. 268-274), in P. Savidan (ed.) Dictionnaire des inégalités et de la justice sociale, Paris, Presses Universitaires de France (in french)
  • Ferretti, T. (2017) Predistribución y organizaciones igualitarias, in J. Zalakain & B. Barragué (eds.) Repensar las políticas sociales: predistribución e inversión social. Madrid, Editorial Grupo 5 (in spanish) | ISBN: 978-84-946059-2-5
  • Ferretti, T. (2015) Mondragon in five points: Advantages and challenges of worker cooperatives, Renewal: A Journal of Social Democracy 23(4): pp. 37-54
  • Dietsch, P. and Ferretti, T. (2010) Deux manières de présenter le défi de la justice globale, Mouvements 64: pp. 62-69 (in french) | doi:10.3917/mouv.064.0062

Book reviews

  • Ferretti, T. (2018) Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives (and Why We Don’t Talk about It), E. Anderson, Princeton University Press, 2017. Economics and Philosophy 34(2): pp. 275-282 | doi:10.1017/S0266267118000111
  • Ferretti, T. (2016) Property-Owning Democracy: Rawls and Beyond, M. O’Neill & T. Williamson (eds.), Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. Journal of Applied Philosophy 33(2): pp. 219-221 | doi:10.1111/japp.12151
  • Ferretti, T. (2015) After Occupy: Economic Democracy for the 21st Century, T. Malleson, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Les Ateliers de l’Éthique 10(1): pp. 155-162 (in french) | doi:10.7202/1032733ar
  • Ferretti, T. (2014) After Occupy: Economic Democracy for the 21st Century, T. Malleson, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. Ethical Perspectives 21(4): pp. 627-631

Media Activity

Presentations
  • 2024: “Value alignment without institutional change cannot prevent the societal risks of AI”, AI and Data Science in Public Policy Symposium, London School of Economics (UK)
  • 2024: “Value alignment without institutional change cannot prevent the societal risks of AI”, 1st Bayreuth Workshop on AI Governance, Bayreuth University (DE)
  • 2023: “How is AI Changing the World?”, Panel: Thomas Ferretti, Christine Chow, Giulia Gentile, Michael Wooldridge, LSE Festival, London School of Economics (UK)
  • 2023: “The Future of Privacy” Convener: Thomas Ferretti, Panel: Orla Lynskey, Elin Palm, Alex Voorhoeve, LSE Public Lecture, London School of Economics (UK)
  • 2023: "Ethical AI and bias mitigation in recruitment" Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Recruitment Conference, Business Forum International (BFI)
  • 2023: “Protecting employee privacy in the age of workplace analytics”, MICH workshops of the Hoover Chair, UCLouvain (BE)
  • 2022: Discussant on Daniel Halliday: “Workplace Hierarchy: The Case for Optimism”, Oxford Centre for the Study of Social Justice, University of Oxford (UK)
  • 2022: “Artificial Intelligence and Democracy” Convener: T. Ferretti, Panel: E. Brown, J. Maclure, Z. Pamuk, A. Zimmermann, LSE Public Lecture, London School of Economics (UK)2022: “Algorithmes et Big Data dans le secteur public”, Convener: J. Paquette, Panel: T. Ferretti, J. Durand Folco, E. Dionne, Winter School in Public Ethics, Université Saint-Paul (CA)
  • 2021: “An institutionalist approach to AI ethics: justifying a priority of government regulation over self-regulation” MANCEPT workshops: Governing AI, University of Manchester (UK)
  • 2021: Discussant on Jonne Maas “Machine learning and the moral wrong of unaccountable interference” MANCEPT workshops: Governing AI, University of Manchester (UK)
  • 2021: “A liberal egalitarian perspective on the platform economy”, MANCEPT workshops: Justice and non-standard work, University of Manchester (UK)
  • 2021: Discussant on Denise Celentano, “Normative Concerns of Algorithmic Management”, Labor Justice and the Transformation of Work, Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona (SP)
  • 2021: “L’actualité de John Rawls contre Katrina Forrester”, Que retenir de John Rawls, 50 ans après A theory of justice? Hoover Chair of Economic and Social Ethics, UCLouvain (BE)
  • 2021: “AI Ethics: a fireside chat”. Panel: Thomas Ferretti, Kate Vredenburgh, Intelligent Service Desks Event (invited private sector talk), London (UK)
  • 2021: "Transforming economic organizations: worker cooperatives, codetermination, bicameralism”, Real Utopias Project: Democratizing the Corporation, Institute for Future Studies (SE)
  • 2021: “The distributive case for promoting federations of worker cooperatives”, Rapports de pouvoir dans les organisations, Université Saint-Paul (CA)
  • 2020, “An institutionalist approach to AI ethics: justifying a priority of government regulation over self-regulation”, Probe Seminar, London School of Economics (UK)