Nigel SHADBOLT

Nigel Shadbolt is an internationally renowned AI researcher, with over four decades of contributions to the subject, he has developed AI and data intensive tools, techniques, methods, and applications. He has sought to deploy and exploit the results of his research, working to understand their economic and societal impact. His original interest in AI was kindled as an undergraduate at the University of Newcastle, and in 1978 he began a PhD in the Department of AI at the University of Edinburgh.

During his subsequent academic career, he has had leadership roles at the Universities of Nottingham, Southampton, and Oxford. At Oxford, his research has focused on Human Centred AI, including benchmarking Large Language Models, privacy preserving machine learning, algorithmic accountability, age-appropriate design and understanding mobile data flows.

In 2019 he was asked to lead the Isaac Newton Institute’s Infectious Diseases Programme Data Challenges Theme, looking to learn lessons around data preparedness for future pandemics. He helped secure and set up Oxford’s Institute for Ethics in AI and is currently its Senior Distinguished Research Scientist. He is Executive Chair of the Open Data Institute which he co-founded with Sir Tim Berners-Lee. In 2009 he was appointed Information Advisor by the Prime Minister and, working with Sir Tim, led the development of the highly acclaimed data.gov.uk website.

With over 500 publications, he has researched and published on topics ranging over cognitive psychology, computational neuroscience and artificial intelligence. In 2018 he published The Digital Ape: how to live (in peace) with smart machines, described as a ‘landmark book’. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, the British Computer Society, and the European Artificial Intelligence Association. In 2013 he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for ‘services to science and engineering’.