Stephen Cave

University of Cambridge, Leverhulme Trust

Papers

Total Citations

516

H-Index

About

Stephen Cave is a leading philosopher of technology whose work illuminates the cultural, ethical, and social dimensions of artificial intelligence. His research focuses on how AI is imagined, represented, and governed, bridging critical theory with empirical public perception studies. Cave’s landmark paper “The Whiteness of AI” (252 citations) exposes how intelligent machines are overwhelmingly portrayed as white—in both color and ethnicity—arguing that this bias reinforces racial hierarchies and shapes public trust. His nationally representative UK survey in “Scary Robots” (181 citations) reveals that public fears about AI are not irrational but nuanced, challenging simplistic narratives of technophobia. Cave also traces the deep historical roots of AI in “Ancient dreams of intelligent machines” (36 citations), showing that our hopes and anxieties about autonomous beings stretch back 3,000 years. As Director of the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at Cambridge, he has become a pivotal voice in responsible AI development, influencing policy and public debate. His work is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand AI not just as a technical system, but as a mirror of human values and power structures.