Simone Zhenting Mao
Canadian Political Theorist
AI Governance Researcher
“Freedom is not the absence of constraints but the mastery of them. The purpose of rules is not to stifle creativity, but to guide it toward a more sustainable and ethical future.”
Simone Zhenting Mao is an award-winning Canadian political theorist and AI governance researcher currently affiliated with Harvard University. Her work bridges normative theory, institutional design, and technology governance. She develops pluralist, value-sensitive frameworks for ethical AI alignment and global cooperation, with a focus on reconciling value pluralism across systems and cultures. Her recent research spans three interrelated domains: AI governance and ethical alignment, political philosophy and cross-civilizational theory, and institutional and policy design in a global context, unified by one central question: how can diverse societies live together in an age of rising intelligent machines, global value fragmentation, and institutional uncertainty?
Simone’s interdisciplinary work converges on one central vision: to rethink the philosophical, ethical, and institutional foundations of global coexistence in an era defined by technological disruption, value fragmentation, and geopolitical transformation.
AI Governance & Ethical Alignment
AI ethics, value pluralism, epistemic uncertainty, risk governance, institutional design.
Simone’s research develops pluralist, value-sensitive frameworks for aligning AI systems with diverse human values, addressing normative disagreement, epistemic uncertainty, and the institutional complexities of global AI governance.
Political Philosophy & Cross-Civilizational Theory
Political theory, Rousseau, social contract, multiculturalism, digital sovereignty, civilizational conflict.
Her philosophical work examines foundational concepts of political order and coexistence—especially in multicultural, multi-ethnic societies—through social contract theory, global citizenship, and civilizational frameworks rooted in thinkers such as Rousseau, Berlin, and Kissinger.
Institutional and Policy Design in a Global Context
Institutional governance, policy translation, systemic design, international collaboration, macro-strategy.
With experience in macroeconomic policy, urban governance, and cross-border institutional reform, she translates normative theories into practical design principles, contributing to both national and transnational policy development.
What I do
My research focuses on regulatory frameworks, ethical and meta-ethical issues (the applicability of normative concepts, AI system responsibilities, and moral status), and constitutional questions (the adaptation of constitutional principles to AI and potential revisions). The rapid proliferation of AI has prompted urgent calls for regulation. However, the conceptual and practical foundations of such frameworks remain highly unstable. My work seeks to explore the ethical, legal, and policy challenges posed by AI’s evolution.
We stand at a critical juncture: AI’s exponential growth demands immediate legislative action and global governance models. The message is clear—legislate, govern, and proactively mitigate large-scale AI risks, whether epistemic, ethical, or existential. AI safety must not be an afterthought; it is a foundational necessity.