Amir
Rafiee, PhD
Independent Researcher — AI Ethics & Governance
Where Philosophy
Meets Real-World AI
Amir Rafiee is a Sydney-based researcher and data analyst specialising in the ethical, legal, and policy challenges of artificial intelligence — with a particular focus on autonomous vehicles (AVs). His interdisciplinary work sits at the intersection of philosophy, information and communication technology, business, and governance.
He completed his doctoral research at Griffith University (School of Information and Communication Technology, with affiliations to the Griffith Business School, Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law, and Institute for Integrated and Intelligent Systems). His PhD thesis, titled "Ethics by Design: Shaping the Moral Compass of Autonomous Vehicles in Australia", examined how moral frameworks and public expectations should inform the programming and regulation of self-driving cars.
"The best AI is not the smartest — it's the one that reflects our shared humanity."
Research Focus
Amir's research focuses on bridging the gap between ethical theory and real-world implementation. He explores how frameworks grounded in philosophy and law can inform the design of safe, accountable, and socially aligned autonomous systems.
His research has produced four key principles for AV ethical programming — IOS, HCL, HPP, and ODS — that shift the field away from simplistic utilitarian calculations toward a legally-grounded, deontologically-informed framework that the Australian public actually supports.
Why This Matters
Amir's work takes an interdisciplinary approach, combining insights from philosophy, law, and engineering to develop practical ethical frameworks. He focuses on solutions that are not only theoretically sound, but also implementable within real-world systems and regulatory environments.
His interest in AI ethics is driven by the broader challenge of ensuring that technological progress remains aligned with human values, safety, and fairness.
He is particularly interested in how ethical principles can inform policy and industry practices, ensuring that emerging technologies are aligned with societal values and public expectations. He welcomes partnerships with government agencies, automotive manufacturers, ethics institutes, and technology companies to translate these principles into real-world code and regulation.
Academic Homes
Passion for Technology
and Moral Philosophy
Born from a deep curiosity about both machines and morality, Amir believes that the questions society faces with AI are fundamentally human questions — about fairness, accountability, and what kind of future we want to build together.
When he's not drafting policy recommendations or exploring new research directions, you'll find him exploring Sydney's beaches, contemplating the next big question in responsible innovation, or diving deep into the philosophical literature that underpins his research.
He welcomes conversations with researchers, policymakers, technologists, and anyone who believes that the way we design AI today will define society tomorrow.