Manuel Wörsdörfer

Associate Professor of Management and Computing Ethics
Maine Business School

Dr. Wörsdörfer is an Associate Professor of Management and Computing Ethics at the Maine Business School and the School of Computing and Information Science at the University of Maine. He is also an Associate Member of the university’s AI Initiative. Before joining UMaine, he served as a lecturer and research fellow at the Murdough Center for Engineering Professionalism and was affiliated with the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University. He previously held a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Cluster of Excellence ‘The Formation of Normative Orders’ and was a member of the Center for Business Ethics at Goethe University Frankfurt. In addition, he has been a visiting research fellow at Peking University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of Toronto, and York University. Dr. Wörsdörfer’s research focuses on business and human rights – particularly political corporate social responsibility – as well as AI ethics, with a special emphasis on big tech and antitrust. His work has been presented at major international conferences, including the annual meetings of the Australasian Business Ethics Network, the European Business Ethics Network, the International Association for Computing and Philosophy, and the Society for Business Ethics. His research has appeared in leading journals such as AI and EthicsBusiness and Society ReviewDigital SocietyEuropean Competition JournalEuropean Journal of the History of Economic ThoughtHistory of Economic IdeasJournal of Business EthicsJournal of the History of Economic ThoughtPhilosophy & TechnologyPhilosophy of ManagementThe Antitrust Bulletin, and Transnational Legal Theory. He is the author of the 2026 book AI Ethics and Governance – Historical, Cultural, and Regulatory Perspectives and the forthcoming book Ordoliberalism and the Governance of Artificial Intelligence: Competition, Constitutional Order, and Digital Capitalism

Monographs

Wörsdörfer, M. (forthcoming). Ordoliberalism and the Governance of Artificial Intelligence: Competition,  Constitutional Order, and Digital Capitalism. Berlin, De Gruyter Brill. 

Wörsdörfer, M. (2026). AI Ethics and Governance: Historical, Cultural, and Regulatory Perspectives. Berlin, De  Gruyter Brill.

Peer-Reviewed

Baldwin, W., Ghanavati, S., & Wörsdörfer, M. (2026). Mitigating Ethical Risks in AI Development. Proceedings of  the 20th International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science (RCIS 2026)/Lecture Notes in  Business Information Processing (Springer, B Conference/Journal, Acceptance Rate: 29%) 585. 3-19

Wörsdörfer, M. (2026). Ten Reasons Why – The Case for More and Better AI Regulation. AI and Ethics (Springer,  Impact Factor: 2) 6. Article 62. 

Wörsdörfer, M. (2025). ‘Regulating the Undefined: Addressing Systemic Risks in the Digital Services Act (with an  Appendix on the AI Act)’ – A Commentary. Philosophy & Technology (Springer, A* Journal [Computer Ethics],  Impact Factor: 5.88, Acceptance Rate: 10%, H-Index: 48) 38. Article 76. 

Küster, A. & Wörsdörfer, M. (2025). Exploring Laws of Robotics: A Synthesis of Constitutional AI And  Constitutional Economics. Digital Society (Springer) 4. Article 46. 

Wörsdörfer, M. (2025). Biden’s Executive Order on AI: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Possible Reform Steps. AI and  Ethics (Springer, Impact Factor: 2) 5(2). 1669-1683. 

Wörsdörfer, M. (2025). AI Ethics and Ordoliberalism 2.0: Towards a ‘Digital Bill of Rights.’ AI and Ethics (Springer, Impact Factor: 2) 5(1). 507-525. 

Wörsdörfer, M. (2025). The E.U.’s Artificial Intelligence Act – An Ordoliberal Assessment. AI and Ethics (Springer,  Impact Factor: 2) 5(1). 263-278. 

Areas of Expertise

(Political) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Corporate Citizenship
Behavioral and happiness economics, economic psychology and neuroeconomics
Business (Ethics) and Human Rights (Conflict Minerals, Migrant Workers)
Climate Ethics (Climate Change and Human Rights)
Computer Ethics (AI Ethics, Big Tech and Antitrust, Ethical Issues of Autonomous Vehicles; Privacy in the Information Age)
Economic Policy (with a Special Focus on European Integration and Politics)
Finance Ethics (Climate Finance, Green Bonds, Sustainable Finance)
History of Economic Thought (Constitutional Economics, Neoliberalism, Social Market Economy)
Multi-Stakeholder and Transnational CSR Initiatives (Equator Principles, U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights)

Education

Habilitation, Business Ethics, Goethe University, Germany (2011-2015)
Ph.D., Business Ethics, Goethe University, Germany (2008-2011)
M.A., Philosophy & Economics, University of Bayreuth, Germany (2004-2007)
B.A., Philosophy & Economics, University of Bayreuth, Germany (2001-2004)
Manuel-for-Web
Associate Professor of Management and Computing Ethics