David Danks

Carnegie Mellon University, University of California San Diego

Papers

Total Citations

110

H-Index

About

David Danks is a leading voice at the intersection of artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and ethics, with a primary focus on the philosophy and governance of AI. His research critically examines how AI systems—particularly in high-stakes domains like healthcare—impact human trust, decision-making, and social values. Danks’s most influential work, “Impacts on Trust of Healthcare AI” (2018, 86 citations), provides a foundational framework for understanding how the introduction of autonomous systems into clinical settings alters the dynamics of trust between patients, providers, and technology. He further explores these themes in “The Value of Trustworthy AI” (2019, 23 citations), arguing that trust is not merely a technical property but a deeply relational and normative concept. In his more recent work, “Discrimination Exposed? On the Reliability of Explanations for Discrimination Detection” (2025), Danks challenges the assumption that explainable AI can reliably uncover algorithmic bias, raising critical questions about the limits of transparency as a safeguard. A professor at the University of California San Diego, Danks is recognized for bridging philosophy, cognitive science, and data science to shape responsible AI development.