Youjin Kong

Welcome! I am an incoming Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Georgia (starting in August 2023).

Previously, I was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Oregon State University. I received my PhD in Philosophy from Michigan State University and my MA and BA in Philosophy from Seoul National University, South Korea.

    Click here to view my latest CV.

Research

Located at the nexus of social/political philosophy, feminist philosophy, and ethics of artificial intelligence (AI), my research focuses on two strands. First, I analyze how AI reproduces gender and racial injustice and develop philosophical frameworks for improving justice in socio-technical systems. Second, I explore what social identity (such as gender, race, and disability) is and means, especially how these change in relationship to power. Currently, I am working to build a non-idealizing, decolonial ontology of social identity that could serve as a bridge between AI fairness research and women of color feminism. 

My recent publications include an article in ACM FAccT, which critically examines the dominant interpretation of the concepts of fairness and intersectionality in the AI fairness literature; and an article in Ergo, which addresses the metaphysics of identity-power relationships by engaging in a case study of Asian American experiences during COVID-19. I have won a Best Paper Prize from the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy.

Teaching

I teach courses in moral, social, and feminist philosophy, as well as courses on ethical issues in AI. Nominated by students for promoting meaningful student-teacher interaction, I won a Teaching Excellence Award in 2019. I also received an Outstanding Service Award in 2021 in recognition of developing of a new interdisciplinary ethics and diversity curriculum.