Erik has a PhD in Theoretical Philosophy, an MSc in Applied Computer Science and a BA in Mathematics from the University of Uppsala, Sweden. He became a Docent in Uppsala 2001.
Between 1997-2003 he was a research fellow at the University of Constance, Germany, where he became a docent (Privatdozent) in 2003. Since 2007, he is a full professor in Theoretical Philosophy and Coordinator for the Department of Philosophy at Lund University.
He is one of the originators behind Laputa, a software solution for studying communication and knowledge attainment in social networks.
In 2012, he and Magnus Zetterholm founded Academic Rights Watch, which monitors academic freedom in Sweden. He is currently leading the research project Filter Bubbles and Ideological Segregation Online funded by Riksbankens Jubileumsfond. The project studies possible information bubbles primarily in Google Search.