Our vision comes to life through a range of research and innovation programmes that cover fundamental AI, the application of AI, and responsible AI.
Discover the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê faculties, departments, institutes and Centres for Doctoral Training (CDTs) leading on AI and AI-related research. For the latest on Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê AI research initiatives and impact, visit our News and Events page.
1. The importance of foundational AI
Foundational AI sits at the heart of our ‘AI for people and planet’ strategy. Its connections to application areas are critical to its success. Find out more below:
Other Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê foundational AI centres and initiatives
Developing and Understanding Foundational Algorithms:
- Centre for Computational Statistics and Machine Learning
- Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit
- Computational Statistics
- Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Foundational AI
New approaches for machine vision, machine learning, machine reading, knowledge representation, and data science:
- Intelligent Systems Group
- Knowledge, Information and Data Science (KIDS) Group
- Centre for Data Science
2. The application of AI
'AI for people and planet' will require connections to be made within and between application areas, linking strongly to foundational AI and recognising that translation into practice and impact takes many routes and different forms.
Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê seeks to contribute to emerging practices of AI use in policing, criminal justice systems, and redefinition of skills and retraining as well as other areas of machine-to-human interactions. Initially, we will develop positive mission statements in the nine application areas listed below to guide our practice.
Discover some of the key Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê institutes, centres, departments, and research programmes, in these areas:
I. Health and social care
AI is transforming all aspects of Healthcare diagnoses, treatment and health and care delivery to be more efficient and cost effective. Through the increasing availability of healthcare data and rapid progress of analytics techniques AI is being utilised to address unmet patient and population need.
II. Biology and neuroscience
From next generation sequencing, satellite/drone environmental imaging, light sheet microscopy and more, very large data sets allow the transformative power of machine learning to be leveraged in order to understand highly complex biological systems.
III. Education and work
AI research conducted within Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê considers current and future educational and workplace challenges faced across the globe. Our research addresses the need to educate people about AI to equip them with the skills and knowledge they need for the modern workplace and for contemporary life.
IV. Finance and risk
AI has a transformative role in the creation and delivery of novel financial tools and the analysis of risk. Our work not only creates these developments but seeks to understand some of the biases and risks that can arise through the application of new financial technologies.
V. NaturalÌýand built environment
The proliferation of AI applications shape and are shaped by our physical world. From biodiversity monitoring to urban dynamics and consumer retail behaviour, AI allows us to understand, design and analyse the natural and built space in which we live, work, and recreate daily.
VI. Energy and sustainability
The UK has declared a climate emergency and legislated a net zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050. Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê is undertaking research in the use of AI and data analytics to inform new business models and transform our energy systems to solve energy and sustainability issues.
VII.Ìý Citizens, law and policy
Supporting research, development and take up of AI is a key part of the UK’s industrial strategy. Researchers at Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê are helping to shape AI’s role in industrial strategy and education by exploring the questions that AI raises for the sector.
VIII. Transportation and mobility
AI is greatly enhancing our ability to predict and manage the implications of behaviour choice and equipment performance for all aspects of transport. In addition, insights from AI are helping to uncovering and shaping new business models for mobility.
IX.Ìý ÌýEarth and the cosmos
Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê academics are world-leading experts in applying cutting-edge AI/ML to many research fields of mathematical and physical sciences to push the boundaries of our understanding of earth and the universe.
3. Responsible AI, urbanisation and society
Urbanisation is a feature of contemporary human society. The development of AI technologies is concentrated in cities, including London; and the people these technologies are intended to benefit also tend to live in such cities.
For this reason, Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê, as a comprehensive global university located in a technologically advanced global city, is particularly well placed to contribute to the development of AI technologies.
Insights developed through our Grand Challenges of Sustainable Cities, Transformative Technologies and others are incorporated into our AI strategy.
At the same time, we recognise the need for inclusion of all communities, not just urban ones, in our application of AI to benefit people and planet.
Some of this work will be undertaken through the Ïã¸ÛÁùºÏ²Ê Department of Science and Technology Studies (STS).
Ìý