Daniela Vacek

Daniela Vacek is a researcher at KInIT. She is also an independent researcher at the Institute of Philosophy, Slovak Academy of Sciences, v. v. i., where she leads TECHNE, a joint project with KInIT. Her work lies at the intersection of AI ethics, philosophy of responsibility, philosophical aesthetics, and philosophical logic. She is a 2025 ESET Science Award Laureate in the category Outstanding researcher in Slovakia under the age of 35.

She is a graduate of the Faculty of Arts at Comenius University in Bratislava, where she has also gained postdoctoral experience at the Department of Logic and Methodology of Sciences. Daniela was an academic visitor at University College London, the University of York, and the University of Bayreuth. Apart from TECHNE, she was the PI of three other research projects, two of which were awarded by the University of Oxford. She actively contributes to the academic community through publications in leading journals, conference organisation and participation, programme committee service, membership in scholarly societies, peer review for major journals, supervision, teaching, evaluation of major research grants, and media appearances. 

Her current research is driven by the conviction that responsibility is one of the most fundamental challenges in AI ethics. Accordingly, she examines both the negative and positive dimensions of responsibility for the outcomes of AI systems and machines. Beyond her academic work, Daniela enjoys spending time with her family, especially her little boy Liam, collecting David Austin roses, watching horror cinema, and reading fiction and poetry when time allows.