I am an Assistant Professor at the University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Computer and Information Science, where I have been teaching and conducting research since 2020. My current work focuses on the problem of value alignment in large language models (LLMs), on mobile and edge AI systems, and on adaptive and resource-aware computation. I am also a researcher at the Centre for Human-Centred AI Ethics, contributing to interdisciplinary research on responsible AI, human oversight, and the broader societal and anthropological implications of artificial intelligence.
Background
My academic formation spans both engineering and the humanities. I was trained as an electronics and computer engineer, with a PhD focused on reconfigurable and energy-efficient computing systems. Alongside this technical trajectory, I pursued formal studies in theology, motivated by questions of human dignity, suffering, moral responsibility, and formation. These two strands—systems engineering and anthropological reflection—now jointly inform my approach to artificial intelligence and digital technologies.
Professional experience
At the University of Ljubljana, I currently teach Process Automation and have previously taught Programming of Energy-Constrained Devices and Platform-based Development. My research at UL FRI addresses LLM value alignment, edge intelligence, approximate and adaptive computing, and the design of AI systems that remain intelligible, controllable, and accountable. I currently serve as principal investigator for the EU-funded CARDIO-FL project (context-aware, privacy-preserving cardiac monitoring using on-device AI and federated learning) and for the national research project Theology and Digitalization: Anthropological and Ethical Challenges. I previously served as principal investigator for AgriAdapt (2023), a project focused on energy-efficient UAV-based weed detection through real-time adaptation of deep learning models.
Alongside my primary appointment at UL FRI, I serve as Adjunct Research Professor at Babeș-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, collaborating on research initiatives, grant applications, and graduate student co-supervision. Earlier in my academic career, I held academic positions at Transilvania University of Brașov, Romania, where I worked in the Department of Electronics and Computers, directing research and development in conversational agents, computer vision, and cultural heritage applications.
My academic work is grounded in prior industrial experience in hardware and software engineering. Before entering academia full-time, I worked in semiconductor and ASIC design, embedded and reconfigurable systems, energy-efficient software, and full-stack web development. This background continues to shape my emphasis on system-level thinking, practical feasibility, and the responsible deployment of AI technologies beyond laboratory settings.
Values and research orientation
A central theme of my research is the conviction that artificial intelligence should remain a tool in the service of human agency rather than an end in itself. I am a strong proponent of research and development in Tool AI: systems deliberately designed to address specific tasks under meaningful human control, as opposed to open-ended pursuits of autonomous, human-replacing artificial general intelligence.
At the same time, my work stresses that even well-designed tools shape the cognitive environments in which people think, learn, and decide. Many AI systems are not neutral instruments that can simply be picked up and put down; they subtly influence how problems are framed and how judgments are formed. For this reason, I approach AI not only as a technical artifact, but as a cultural and moral force whose design choices have lasting consequences for education, social trust, and human flourishing.
By integrating systems engineering with ethical reflection and anthropological insight, I aim to contribute to AI technologies that are efficient and innovative, yet also intelligible, trustworthy, and oriented toward the common good.