Damon Horowitz
Damon Horowitz is a philosophy professor and serial entrepreneur. He is best known for his TED talks on teaching philosophy in prison and the ethics of the technology industry, and for his advocacy for the humanities in the technology industry.
Horowitz earned a BA from Columbia University, a MS in Artificial Intelligence from the MIT Media Lab, and a PhD in Philosophy at Stanford University. He began his career in technology, later returning to Stanford to earn a PhD in philosophy.
He was a co-founder of the search engine Aardvark, Perspecta, and Novation Biosciences. He was also In-House Philosopher/Director of Engineering at Google. He serves on the Board of Advisors for a small portfolio of mission-driven startup companies, including Good Eggs, Source4Style, and AltSchool, where he also held an interim position as Chief Academic Officer.
Horowitz teaches courses in philosophy, AI, and cognitive science at NYU, Stanford, Columbia, U Penn, and San Quentin State Prison.
Horowitz has served on the Board of Directors of several arts and humanities non-profits, and in 2013 he was elected to the Board of CalHumanities..
In 2014, Horowitz founded the non-profit Shakespeare theater company "The Oracular Theatre", and directed their first production of Julius Caesar. Horowitz performs regularly as a classical and jazz pianist.
