We are pleased to announce that Jean Decety, a social neuroscientist and Irving B. Harris Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago, has been elected an Academician of the World Academy for Artificial Consciousness (WAAC), in recognition of his foundational work in the social neuroscience of empathy, self–other representation, and moral cognition.
Over the years, Prof. Decety has used integrated experimental and theoretical approaches to elucidate the neural mechanisms of human empathy. With collaborators, he advanced a framework that couples bottom-up emotion sharing with top-down regulatory control, emphasizing the necessity of distinguishing self from other during empathic responses. His team’s neuroimaging studies have shown partial overlap between the neural substrates of observing others’ pain and experiencing pain oneself, while also revealing distinct processing when adopting self versus other perspectives. In addition, animal research he co-authored provided evidence that rats display helping behavior toward distressed conspecifics, broadening our understanding of the evolutionary roots and biological bases of empathy.
- Global Collaboration and Academic Ecosystem
Academicians of the World Academy for Artificial Consciousness hail from institutions such as Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Cambridge, the University of California, the French Academy of Sciences, the University of Padua, the University of Queensland, Columbia University, and the University of Exeter. Honorary Academicians come from a wide range of countries and regions, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Canada, Australia, Spain, and China. In addition, leading scientists from prominent research institutes and technology companies—such as Google, the Allen Institute for Brain Science, and ZEEKR—also participate.
- About WAAC
The World Academy for Artificial Consciousness (https://www.waac.ac/) is a global academic institution established in Paris in 2025. Its mission is to advance frontier research and international collaboration in artificial consciousness through the integration of science, technology, and philosophy. The Academy publishes open research, policy recommendations, evaluation standards, and more. The current President is Academician Yucong Duan, and the Secretary-General is Dr. Yingbo Li. The Honorary Academician List: On May 3, 2025, WAAC released its first batch of Top 100 Honorary Academicians, recognizing scholars who have made foundational or leading contributions to the theory of artificial consciousness.