Luke F. Walton

Independent Researcher · San Diego, California

luke@lukefwalton.com · PhilPeople · ORCID 0009-0005-9263-1954

Download the CV (PDF) Updated September 2026

Areas of specialization and competence

AOS. AI ethics; moral responsibility; philosophy of technology.

AOC. Social and political philosophy; social epistemology; philosophy of social science.

Publications

Manuscripts under review

Manuscripts, not publications: these are at journals, not in them.

The Decision No One Authored: The Answerability Gap in Generative AI

Res Practica, special issue “The Faces of Responsibility”. Under review (submitted August 2026).

PhilArchive ·doi:10.5281/zenodo.20614374
The Captured Oracle: Authorship and Agency in the Ethics of Answer-Engine Optimization

AI and Ethics. Revise and resubmit; revision under review (resubmitted August 2026).

doi:10.5281/zenodo.20676327
Coupling Without Commitment: Jazz Improvisation and What Is Missing in Machine–Machine Interaction

Synthese. Under review (submitted July 2026).
The Keeper of the Flock: Epistemic Integrity and Civic Evidentiary Architecture

Philosophy & Technology. Under review (submitted August 2026).

Shorter work under consideration

Why Does Intelligence Matter Anyway?

AI & Society, Curmudgeon Corner. Submitted August 2026.
A Cleric Walks into a Mind Flayer Colony

Think. Submitted September 2026.

Working papers

The Invariant of Answerability

Working paper, June 2026.

doi:10.5281/zenodo.20606492
Building Answerable AI: Why Automation Needs Owned Error

Working paper, June 2026.

doi:10.5281/zenodo.20682306

Technical notes

Answer Engine: A Small Reference Implementation for Citation-Grounded Answerability

Technical note, v1.2, 2026. Under consideration at AI and Ethics.

doi:10.5281/zenodo.20686053 ·github.com/lukefwalton/answer-engine ·software doi:10.5281/zenodo.20676773

In preparation

Are You Experienced? Generated Decision Premises and Recursive Organizational Learning

Manuscript.
The Description Is Not the Event: Exposure, and Why Standing Is Not an Object

Manuscript.
An Answer to a Different Question: Judgment, Authorization, and the Opening of the Pacific War

Manuscript.

Education

M.B.A., San Diego State University, 2021.
B.M., Popular Music, University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music, 2013.Inaugural class of the Popular Music program.

Appointments

Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Surmado, Inc., 2025–present.
Senior Marketing Manager, Amazon, 2024–present.
NAMM, 2018–2024.Associate Director, Marketing (2022–2024); Marketing Manager (2019–2022); Copywriter / Marketing Coordinator (2018–2019).
Creative Project Manager, Tiny Giant Productions, 2014–2018.
Operations Specialist, Google, 2013–2014.Google Glass, early commercialization.
Creative Trainee, Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, 2012–2013.

Teaching

Generative AI instructor, independent professional education, 2025–present.Practical generative AI, agentic workflows, and responsible use.

Selected presentations

AI Maturity in 2026: Building and Enabling the Modern Marketing Team. Keynote panel, AI for Marketers Summit (GSMI), 14 May 2026.
The AI Playbook for Social Media Teams. Panel, Social Media Strategies Summit (GSMI), 13 November 2025.

Languages

Japanese, professional working proficiency.

Selected creative work

Recording, songwriting, and production as Scoobert Doobert. Credits include sound production for CHAI (Sub Pop / Sony Music Japan) and co-writing the opening theme for the Fuji TV drama Heart Attack (2025). Producer and narrator of Plato’s Apology (2023). Host of Love Music More.

The full record: Music · Catalog · Press and credits · Love Music More.

The argument these papers make, rather than the list of them, is at Research. Reference list: Publications.