The Turing Presents: AI UK

Following an opening address from Amanda Solloway MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Science, Research and Innovation, a warm welcome from MC Gemma Milne, hosting a conversation with Sir Adrian Smith, Institute Director and President of the Royal Society and Professor Michael Wooldridge, Co-Director of the AI programme and Professor of Computer Science at University of Oxford, on the purpose of AI UK and how to get the most out of the next two days.

The world has changed dramatically in the past 12 months, and the role of AI and data science in improving society has been thrust into the spotlight more than ever. Join members of the AI Council, leading thinkers and scientists who will discuss how we can build public trust in AI, and ask, what is the roadmap to making real actionable impact for the UK’s communities? 

We put the spotlight on leading researchers who will showcase their latest work across multiple disciplines. The following talks will be available on demand during the event. Watch at your pace to be inspired, engaged, and informed.

• Professor Chris Williams, Turing Fellow, Professor of Machine Learning, University of Edinburgh – Why practical data analytics is so painful - and how we can help
• Conor Houghton, Turing Fellow, Reader in Mathematical Neuroscience, University of Bristol – Estimating mutual information
• Professor Derek Long, Professor of Computer Science, King's College London – From automated planning to automated drilling
• Dr Larisa Soldatova, Reader in Data Science, Goldsmiths, University of London – Automating scientific discovery
• Professor Ross King, University of Cambridge – Automating scientific discovery
• Professor Michael Wooldridge, Professor of Computer Science, University of Oxford – Connected AI: the future of intelligent systems
• Professor Peter Flach, Professor of Artificial Intelligence, University of Bristol – Computer says 'I don't know' – the case for Honest AI
• Priya Lakhani, CEO of CENTURY and UK AI Council Member – How the pandemic is accelerating AI’s role in education
• Dr Sebastian Vollmer, Director of Turing Data Study Groups, Health Programme Theme Lead and Turing Fellow – MLJ: A Julia package for composable machine learning

How can the UK play a world-leading role in fostering and championing responsible innovation? Chaired by Adrian Weller, The Alan Turing Institute's Programme Director for Artificial Intelligence, this session will begin with fireside chat with Adrian and Tabitha Goldstaub, Chair of the UK AI Council, followed by Nathan Lepora demonstrating intelligent tactile robot hands, and Joanna Bryson discussing improvements to the governance and ethics of digital technology.

Co-hosted with Accenture, a panel of academics and market-leading companies will do some live brainstorming, using the knowledge of a business or public sector challenge and turning it into an academic study. This scoping work is at the heart of the Data Study Group format, which brings together the brightest minds in AI and data science to work together on real corporate and public sector problems over the course of a week – using data science to have real world impact for the public good. Come along and watch the action live and consider submitting your own challenge for a future Data Study Group.

Meet The Shuri Network - the first NHS and care network of women of colour in digital health. They are a unique team that has had a big impact on celebrating difference and diversity in digital health, challenging the system to take action and supporting women of colour to succeed in their careers. They are named after Shuri, the Black Panther character who is responsible for her country’s technological success and champion safety, innovation and diversity. In this session we'll hear from three members showcasing the network, their work and their story.

A panel of UK regulators and public policy researchers discuss the implications of AI for the work of regulatory bodies in the UK, including the use of AI to facilitate the work of regulatory bodies. Topics will include the interplay between cross-sectoral and sector-specific regulatory expectations in relation to AI.

Since 2011 enrolment in computer science degrees has increased from around 20,000 to 30,000, and engineering from 26,000 to more than 31,500, according to UCAS figures released in February 2021. But will the skills we are cultivating today be enough to bring the UK to the future we are already committed to? This session, chaired by Dame Wendy Hall of the UK AI Council, will bring together leaders from industry, policy and academia to voice their opinions how the UK is addressing the AI skills gap.

A panel of researchers in the field of data science and AI (who are leading the charge on diversity in the field) reflect on responsible and trustworthy AI in research and innovation, the role of diversity, and if we’re enabling a more safe, fair and inclusive world. It is recognised that bias may seep into AI systems in multiple ways resulting in inequities and potential discrimination. Diversity and inclusion must be throughout the AI lifecycle – design, development, deployment and monitoring. This includes opportunities to tackle issues from data representativeness to algorithmic fairness, and from diversity in data science and AI teams to a more fair, transparent, open and equitable benefit and access to AI interventions across society, science and the economy. Join this panel of experts as they discuss the ways AI and data science community can do better in 2021. 

Chaired by Researcher and One HealthTech Co-founder, Maxine Mackintosh, this session will feature lively demonstrations from the UK’s leading AI researchers showcasing their work across a range of topics. Join the audience to put your questions to the researchers live. You will hear from:

• Professor Ed Keedwell, Professor of Artificial Intelligence, University of Exeter – Augmented Evolutionary Intelligence
• Francesca Toni, Professor in Computational Logic, Imperial College London – Interactive schedule explainer for radiotherapy appointments: Why was my appointment rescheduled? 
• Emanuele Albini, Research Assistant, Imperial College London – Interactive schedule explainer for radiotherapy appointments: Why was my appointment rescheduled?
• Dr Alex Casson, Reader in the Materials, Devices and System, University of Manchester – The Wearable Clinic for Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring

Join Adrian Weller in conversation with Sana Khareghani, Head of UK Government Office for Artificial Intelligence, as they discuss the priorities for the department and the next chapter of the UK's AI journey.

As the UK takes COP26 Presidency in 2021, the AI and data science sector is ramping up its research across environmental sciences and the use of technology to forecast and mitigate against climate change. Howard Covington, Chair of the Board of Trustees at The Alan Turing Institute opens this important theme.

Hear talks from leading environmental scientists who are monitoring and predicting climate change through innovative methods from the Antarctic to the forest floor.

Hosted by Gemma Milne, meet the UK’s leading researchers and experience their demonstrations, from robot fish to gamified AI. Watch their demonstrations live, ask questions, and follow up via chat! In this session you’ll hear from:

• Dr Kangrui Wang, Research Associate, The Alan Turing Institute – Online Disease Diagnosis
• Professor Trevor Martin, Professor of AI, University of Bristol – Intelligent Log Parser
• Leah Claireaux, Big Data Analytics Researcher, BT – Intelligent Log Parser
• Kacper Sokol, Senior Research Associate, University of Bristol – Did You Get That? The Intelligibility of the State-of-the-art Explanations in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Professor Miroslaw Bober, Professor of Video Processing, University of Surrey - Creating machines that can see and hear to understand the world around them

The past year has accelerated the application of AI, with new public-private partnerships for AI and digital tools in the response to the COVID-19 crisis. Critics observe that many of the new technologies western democracies have adopted for tracking, tracing and surveying the population are not unlike the practices employed by social credit systems or censorship of digital platforms in non-Western states. This roundtable will provide the opportunity for dialogue among key leaders in their field who are involved in delineating basic human rights to personal privacy, free speech, and security in a digital age. We will explore the threat to human rights posed by digital technologies as currently used by the corporate sector and by government and reflect on whether existing policies or regulatory frameworks are adequate to protecting individual’s rights.

In this session you’ll hear from three cutting edge health start-ups about their experiences deploying their academic spin-outs to the health and medical science market. We ask what we can learn from their stories and what were their most interesting methods, followed by a conversation with leading investors on what they’re looking for in the future. More speakers to be announced.

Following 12 months of lockdown life, the UK is facing a new epidemic. Our panel of mental health and AI experts will talk about the current research and applications of AI and data science to bolster and improve the mental health provision and services to UK society.

How will society and industry be different in 5, 10, 20 or 50 years’ time? Join this panel of creative thinkers and pioneering scientists for a classic conversation about flying cars and immortality.