Notre Dame Institute for Ethics & Society

16/06/2026

Study with us!

The Centre for Technology + Human Futures is pleased to offer a scholarship for graduate research (PhD, MPhil) on AI Ethics. The scholarship includes an Australian Government RTP stipend plus an additional $10,000 per year. Possible research topics include:

📌 Moral reflection on the implications of AI for individuals, societies and the common good.
📌 Ethical questions concerning AI systems themselves.
📌 Philosophical perspectives shaping the development, interpretation and reception of AI.

Applications are due in August.

Inquiries: [email protected]

More details: https://www.notredame.edu.au/study/fees-costs-and-scholarships/scholarships/research-scholarships

15/06/2026

Join us for the 2026 John and Anna Belfer Oration in the History of Jewish Philosophy on Wednesday 1 July, presented in partnership with The Great Synagogue Sydney.

We are honoured to welcome internationally renowned philosopher Rabbi Dr Samuel Lebens (University of Haifa), who will explore one of life’s biggest questions in his lecture:
“Is Free Will an Illusion? Authoring the Story of Our Lives with Hasdai Crescas and Joseph Albo.”

This thought-provoking evening will examine human agency, moral responsibility and beliefs through the lens of Jewish philosophical tradition. The evening will conclude with a conversation between Rabbi Dr Lebens and ABC Radio National’s Andrew West.

Find out more and register: https://ow.ly/cItv50Zanza

15/06/2026

📣 We're delighted to announce Global Catholic Studies (GCS) — a new research stream within the Institute for Ethics & Society at the University of Notre Dame Australia.

Convened by Shaun Blanchard and Stephen Bullivant, GCS explores the historical, intellectual, and social landscapes of global Catholicism across continents and centuries. Current projects include:

📌 Two externally-funded studies of the Capuchin Franciscans in early modern Europe and twentieth-century Australia
📌A major sociological study of Traditional Latin Mass communities in the United States, soon to be released in Stephen Bullivant's new book “Trads” (Oxford University Press), following a private audience with Pope Leo XIV earlier this year
📌Groundbreaking historical research on early encounters between Catholicism and Indigenous Australians in colonial New South Wales

GCS collaborates with leading international research groups in the field, including Durham's The Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University and Notre Dame USA's Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, and publishes world-class research in the history, sociology, and theology of global Catholicism.

We warmly welcome inquiries about graduate research with the GCS group.

We look forward to sharing the work of GCS with you in the months and years ahead.

🔗 Learn more: https://www.notredame.edu.au/research/institutes-and-initiatives/global-catholic-studies

11/06/2026

Please join us for the second annual Belfer Oration in Jewish Philosophy on 1 July. Rabbi Dr Samuel Lebens (אוניברסיטת חיפה - University of Haifa) will speak about “Is Free Will an Illusion?” followed by a conversation with the ABC’s Andrew West. All welcome!

The Notre Dame Centre for the History of Philosophy warmly invites you to the 2026 John and Anna Belfer Oration in the History of Jewish Philosophy.

Register here: https://www.greatsynagogue.org.au/belfer26

11/06/2026

"Adam Piovarchy, a research fellow specialising in ethics and moral psychology at the University of Notre Dame, says prediction markets try to solve one of the core problems of the modern information landscape: determining who or what to trust.

'If you've got a lot of people participating in it, then there's a lot of incentive for people to aggregate our available evidence and to process it reliably to arrive at informed judgment,' he tells The Feed."

IES researcher Dr Adam Piovarchy contributed to an SBS News piece today, drawing on his research on the ethics and epistemology of prediction markets. Great work, Adam!

An 18-year-old trader is among the Australians using banned prediction markets, where niche information can be worth a fortune.

10/06/2026

Starting tomorrow! Last chance to register for our workshop series on Artificial Intelligence and Christian Wisdom.

04/06/2026

Thank you to the 160+ people who joined us last night for our webinar on "Magnifica Humanitas" – Reading Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on AI. It was excellent to partner with the Plunkett Centre for Ethics ACU to reflect on Pope Leo's call for love and dignity in the age of AI.

Extra thanks to our expert panellists: Bishop Paul Tighe (Secretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education), Associate Professor Xavier Symons (Plunkett Centre for Ethics ACU), Dr Lorenn Ruster (The Australian National University), and Associate Professor Victoria Lorrimar (Director, Centre for Technology and Human Futures)

02/06/2026

In a powerful warning about the dangers and delusions of artificial intelligence, Pope Leo has taken on the self-styled gods of the 21st century. He’s used his first encyclical to argue that whatever good AI might bring, it should never be controlled by a tiny group of ultra-wealthy tech titans. H...

01/06/2026

Congratulations to IES research fellow Dr Adam Piovarchy who has been awarded a AU$180,000 research grant from the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Society!

The project investigates the ethical, political, and epistemic dimensions of modern ‘prediction markets’: markets that yield payments based on the outcome of an uncertain future event, which have recently been legalised in the US. By allowing people to profit from correctly predicting what will happen, prediction markets aggregate evidence about a topic to arrive at a ‘price’ that reflects how confident we collectively ought to be in a certain answer, in order to improve forecasting and decision-making. They have significant potential to improve our epistemic commons, but they also generate risks, namely that of providing perversive incentives to make certain outcomes occur.

Well done, Adam! We look forward to discussing this important work with you as the project develops.

The Ethics, Epistemology, and Politics of Predictions Markets Team Member(s): Dan Weijers (University of Waikato) This project investigates the ethical, political, and epistemic dimensions of…

28/05/2026

Associate Professor Victoria Lorrimar (Director of the Centre for Technology and Human Futures) spoke with Andrew West on ABC Radio National about Pope Leo's encyclical on artificial intelligence, "Magnifica Humanitas." Great work, Vicki!

In a powerful warning about the dangers and delusions of artificial intelligence, Pope Leo has taken on the self-styled gods of the 21st century. He’s used his first encyclical to argue that whatever good AI might bring, it should never be controlled by a tiny group of ultra-wealthy tech titans. H...