Jonathan D. Teubner: The Harvard Scholar Bridging Ancient Theology and Artificial Intelligence

Jonathan D. Teubner is not your typical academic. A researcher who speaks eight languages, holds degrees from Oklahoma State, Yale, and Cambridge, and co-founded an AI data analytics company — Teubner represents a rare breed of scholar whose work connects ancient Christian thought with the most pressing technological questions of our time. You can explore his full academic background on his Wikipedia page.

From Oklahoma to the World’s Top Universities

Teubner grew up in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and earned a BS in economics from Oklahoma State University in 2006. His intellectual curiosity quickly pulled him beyond economics — he studied Arabic and religious studies at the University of Tübingen in Germany between 2007 and 2008, completed a Master’s degree in philosophy of religion at Yale University in 2010, and earned his PhD in intellectual history from the University of Cambridge in 2013. It was a journey that took him from the American Midwest to the heart of European intellectual tradition.

A Career Spanning the World’s Greatest Institutions

After Cambridge, Teubner held a Fernand Braudel postdoctoral fellowship at Paris-Sorbonne University from 2014 to 2015. He then joined the University of Virginia from 2015 to 2019 as Associate Director of its research program on Religion, Politics and Conflict — where he became a permanent research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. From 2019 to 2022, he served as a Research Fellow at Humboldt University of Berlin.

In 2021, he joined Harvard University as a research associate and program lead with the Human Flourishing Program, where he now leads the AI and Flourishing Initiative — one of the most timely and important research programs in academia today. More about his current work can be found on his Wikipedia profile and his personal website.

Award-Winning Author on Augustine

Teubner has authored multiple books focused on St. Augustine of Hippo and the Latin theological tradition. His book Prayer after Augustine: A Study in the Development of the Latin Tradition (2018), published by Oxford University Press, won the prestigious Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise in 2019. His follow-up, Charity after Augustine: Solidarity, Conflict, and the Practices of Charity in the Latin West (2024), further establishes him as one of the leading Augustinian scholars of his generation. Both titles are available on Amazon and Audible.

His Complete Bibliography

Jonathan D. Teubner has authored and contributed to multiple published works:

📖 Prayer after Augustine: A Study in the Development of the Latin Tradition (2018) — Oxford University Press — Winner of the Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award 2019

📖 Charity after Augustine: Solidarity, Conflict, and the Practices of Charity in the Latin West (2024) — Oxford University Press

📖 An Analysis of St. Augustine’s The City of God Against the Pagans — Macat Library

📖 An Analysis of St. Augustine’s Confessions — Macat Library

📖 An Analysis of Gustavo Gutiérrez’s A Theology of Liberation — Macat Library

Co-Founder of FilterLabs.AI — Where Data Meets Global Intelligence

Beyond academia, Teubner co-founded FilterLabs.AI in 2021, serving as its Founder and CEO. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, FilterLabs leverages machine learning to transform hard-to-reach data into actionable strategic insights. The company has been cited by The New York Times for its analysis of Russian public sentiment during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine — a real-world application of data science with genuine geopolitical significance. The company has raised over $20 million in total offerings according to SEC filings.

Why Jonathan D. Teubner Matters Right Now

At a moment when artificial intelligence is reshaping every dimension of human life, Teubner’s unique combination of theological depth, historical scholarship, and data science makes him an essential voice. His work at Harvard’s Human Flourishing Program asks a question most AI researchers ignore: what does it mean for AI to help humans truly flourish — not just be more productive?

He is also a contributing editor at The Hedgehog Review and co-editor of the forthcoming Bloomsbury Academic volume The Common Good in the Age of Artificial Intelligence. His research on the Trust and Belonging Initiative at Harvard further demonstrates his commitment to rebuilding social connection in an increasingly fragmented world.

To learn more about Jonathan D. Teubner, visit his Wikipedia page, his Harvard profile, or his personal website.