Nicholas Smith

Nick Smith is a professor of philosophy at the University of New Hampshire. Formerly a lawyer at a major NYC firm and a clerk for the U.S. Court of Appeals, he specializes in the philosophy of law, politics, and society. He has been teaching philosophical issues related to artificial intelligence since 1998. Nick is the author of I Was Wrong: The Meanings of Apologies (Cambridge University Press, 2008) and Justice through Apologies: Remorse, Reform, and Punishment (Cambridge University Press, 2014). He regularly appears in the media, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, The Boston Herald, The Daily Herald, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Guardian UK, NPR, BBC, CBC, CNN, Fortune, Aeon, Radiolab, Salon, The Diane Rehm Show, Philosophy Talk, and others. In 2014, Nick co-founded and directs the Future Leaders Institute, UNH’s residential pre-college summer camp in philosophy, politics, ethics, and global justice. He is the founding director of the UNH Center for Ethics. He has received teaching awards from UNH and Vanderbilt, including the 2026 Hamel Center for Undergraduate Research Mentorship Award and the 2019 Outstanding Honors Faculty award.