16/10/2025 – SecondDeath. Experiences of Death Across Technologies is Out Today!
“There is no such thing as a natural death: nothing that
happens to a man is ever natural, since his presence calls the world into question. All men must die: but for every man his death is an accident and, even if he knows it and consents to it, an unjustifiable violation.”
— Simone de Beauvoir, A Very Easy Death (1965)
We are thrilled to announce the release of SecondDeath, the first book of its kind—a groundbreaking, cross-disciplinary exploration of how death is being redefined through robotics, AI, and the digital condition.
This volume brings together leading voices from philosophy, technology, and cultural studies to examine the profound transformations of mortality in the age of intelligent machines.
My deepest thanks to co-editors Jordi Vallverdú (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona) and Vicent Costa (IIIA-CSIC), and to all the contributors for their outstanding work, generosity, and commitment:
Jennifer Robertson (University of Michigan, The University of Tokyo, University of Washington); Susana Viegas (Universidade Nova de Lisboa); Joseph Ulatowski (The University of Waikato); Lorenzo Magnani (Università di Pavia); Max Talanov (University of Messina, The Institute for Artificial Intelligence of Serbia); Aníbal Astobiza (Universidad de Granada); Maria Vanina Martinez (IIIA-CSIC); Ricardo O. Rodríguez (University of Buenos Aires, Computer Science Institute, UBA-CONICET); Soenke Dr. Ziesche (Independent Researcher); Roman Yampolskiy (University of Louisville); Ana Cuevas Badallo (Universidad de Salamanca); Lionel Obadia (Université Lumière Lyon 2); Giacomo Zanotti & Daniele Chiffi (Politecnico di Milano); Alfonso García Lapeña (University of Helsinki); David Ferragut (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona); and Shisei Tei (Kyoto University).
A special mention goes to Neil Harbisson and Kevin Warwick (Coventry University), whose visionary reflections close the volume.
May 17th, 2025 – Together with Joan Farnós Baulenas (CASE Department), we will be discussing Ethics and Innovation in the Defense Sector at the Laboratorio dipartimentale “Intelligenza Artificiale e Governance” (IAGo, Università di Siena). Thanks to Matteo Gerlini for the invitation.
May 21st-22nd, 2025 – I attended the 2025 General Counsel Roundtable, “AI Governance and Law: Impacts on Critical Defence and Security Areas,” at NATO Headquarters in Brussels. It was an incredible opportunity to explore emerging trends in defence and security, particularly in dual-use technologies, an area where we are actively involved in the DUT group (CASE Department).
May 8th-9th, 2025 – It has been a true pleasure to take part in the international interdisciplinary Advanced Research Workshop “Clicking the Pause: The role of Transatlantic cooperation in AI Supervision”, organized by the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme, Universidad de Salamanca, and Universidad de La Sabana.
I’m deeply grateful for the invitation, the warm welcome, and the opportunity to contribute. I leave with more questions than answers, which, for a philosopher, is a true gift.
There are urgent and important challenges ahead regarding the digital ethics of emerging and disruptive technologies, with AI at the forefront. I will continue to explore these issues alongside the Dual-Use Technologies Group at the CASE Department, Barcelona Supercomputing Center.
March 14th, 2025 – The first internal workshop of the Palgait Project took place at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (CASE Department), and I was delighted to take part in this exciting initiative.
During the session, I had the opportunity to contribute to discussions on VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) environments, simulation, and ethical analysis in the context of generative AI. The day was intellectually rich and energizing, thanks to the exchange of ideas with an exceptional group of researchers and colleagues.
Among the participants were Lorenzo Magnani (Università di Pavia), David Casacuberta and Anna Estany (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Mario Gensollen (Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes), Vicent Costa (IIIA-CSIC), and Rafal Rzepka (Hokkaido University).
A special thanks to Jordi Vallverdú (ICREA-UAB) for organizing such a meaningful event and for creating the space to explore these urgent and fascinating challenges.