On 17 and 18 March, AI UK, the national showcase of data science and AI, returns to the QEII Centre in Westminster. AI UK convenes leading AI experts from across academia, government and industry, to discuss to the societal opportunities and challenges presented by emerging AI technologies, and to showcase innovative work and cutting-edge research from across the UK’s AI ecosystem.
Ahead of International Women’s Day tomorrow, we’re taking the opportunity to spotlight just some of the inspirational women featuring in the AI UK 2025 programme.
This year, the Research Stage will be emceed by Anne Trefethen and Jane Hillston, the two most recent appointments to the Turing’s Board of Trustees. Anne is the Pro-Vice-Chancellor responsible for Digital Strategy at the University of Oxford, and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, whose research has contributed to the fields of parallel numerical algorithms, energy aware algorithms and software design. Jane is Professor of Quantitative Modelling at the University of Edinburgh and a Fellow of the Royal Society, and winner of multiple awards from the British Computer Society. She has been awarded an MBE for her services to computer science and women’s inclusion in the sciences.
Over on the Conversation Stage, proceedings will be hosted by Oonagh Murphy, Turing Fellow and Senior Lecturer in Digital Culture and Society at Goldsmiths. Oonagh’s research focuses on emerging technologies for museums, galleries and cultural organisations, and she co-founded the Museums + AI Network, which has worked with major institutions including the Barbican and the National Gallery to develop AI policies.
As ethical and environmental concerns about large language models continue to provoke discussion and debate, we’ll be joined by Radhika Chadwick, Executive Chair of the Partnership for Research Into Sentient Machines, as part of a topical workshop on developing responsible conscious AI. Could AI ever become sentient? And what would be the implications for humanity? Radhika possesses a wealth of expertise about AI safety and alignment and the impact of AI on the public sector, and is also the co-founder and CEO of ImpactLoop, an AI-powered platform helping companies to decarbonise their supply chain.
We are also honoured to welcome Lucinda Scharff, Senior Healthcare Specialist at Google. Lucinda began her career in the NHS, joining Google in 2019, where she focuses on developing healthcare technology, supporting the product and engineering teams with her clinical expertise. Lucinda joins a panel discussion on the Research Stage looking at how we might overcome barriers to innovation in healthcare technology, from complex regulatory landscapes to concerns about patient data privacy.
From the government, we are delighted to be joined by Feryal Clark MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for AI and Digital Government. Prior to working in government, Feryal worked for the NHS and has a background in biomedical science. She will give the opening address on day 1 of AI UK, alongside our CEO Jean Innes. We will also welcome Anne Burns, who is AI Policy Advisor at the Department of Education, with a focus on AI risk and regulation. Anne’s research background is on the relationship between society and technology, and she will be taking part in our panel discussion reflecting on the successes of the recent Children’s AI Summit and Children’s Manifesto for the Future of AI.
Ticket sales for AI UK 2025 close next week – don’t forget to sign up and join us either in person at the QEII Centre in Westminster, or online via our live stream. Check out our full programme at the AI UK website, and don’t miss our exhibition of cutting-edge AI demos.
