We are in an extraordinary moment of technological progress, with AI fast integrating into almost every aspect of society and everyday life, opening up new frontiers of science, creativity, and societal benefit. Assuming AI’s capabilities continue to evolve and expand, given where we are and the trajectories we can see, what are the key things we must get right in order to encourage the most positive outcomes of AI while addressing risks and complexities? And what role do we all have to play in getting it right?
For nearly 50 years, the annual Hinton Lecture has hosted some of the world’s leading voices in engineering. They’ve shared bold visions for the future and reflected on the differences being made by the latest breakthroughs. This year, we welcomed James Manyika, Senior Vice President at Google & Alphabet, to deliver an unmissable talk. James leads Google & Alphabet's most ambitious innovations in AI, computing and sciences. His insights span the technical, the societal, and the global — making him uniquely placed to explore how we develop AI for the public good.
The event concluded with a live audience Q&A, chaired by Sir John Lazar CBE FREng, software engineer and President of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
James Manyika
James focuses on advancing Google, Google DeepMind and Alphabet’s most ambitious innovations in AI, Computing and Science and on their potential for broad beneficial impact on people and society. He also leads Google Research, Google Labs, Learning & Sustainability, and Technology & Society.
He was Vice Chair of the US National AI Advisory Committee and Co-Chair of the UN Secretary-General’s AI Advisory Body, Vice Chair of the Global Development Council at the White House and member US Secretary of State’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board.
He’s a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Distinguished Fellow of Stanford’s AI Institute, and in Ethics in AI at Oxford. A Rhodes Scholar, James has DPhil, MSc and MA from Oxford in AI and robotics, mathematics, and computer science, a BSc in electrical engineering from the University of Zimbabwe.
Sir John Lazar CBE FREng
President of the Royal Academy of Engineering. Sir John serves as Chair of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, which empowers young people through computing and digital technologies. He is also a co-founder, General Partner, and a Limited Partner at Enza Capital, which supports tech-driven solutions to major challenges in Africa. He serves on several African tech company boards, and was previously Chair of What3words.