Engineering Responsible AI: Blog Series
This blog series features interviews with AI experts from the Academy’s network where they share their perspectives on generative AI as well as AI more broadly. The series covers various topics and themes, and asks what the safe development and deployment of these technologies. The interviews are intended to provide a clear and measured insight into how AI can be leveraged to support a sustainable society and inclusive economy. It also links to, and builds on, recent National Engineering Policy Centre work on AI and autonomy and its safe and ethical use.
People's AI Stewardship Summit
In March 2024 the Academy held the first People's AI Stewardship Summit in Belfast. The summit was a forum for facilitated discussion between the public and AI stakeholders.
Safety and ethics of autonomous systems
A National Engineering Policy Centre project exploring how autonomous systems should be designed, developed and deployed to ensure widespread benefits.
Artificial intelligence
Foundations for environmentally sustainable AI
Published: February 2025
A new report on AI sustainability from our Engineering Responsible AI programme outlines five foundational steps for progressing towards environmentally sustainable AI.
This report is the first on AI sustainability from our engineering responsible AI programme. Further work will consider long-term interventions, and the capacity for AI systems and services to deliver societal benefit.
Perspectives from the AI Fringe
Published: February 2024
The AI Fringe was a series of events hosted across London and the UK to complement the UK Government’s AI Safety Summit. The Fringe brought a broad and diverse range of voices into the conversation, and expanded the AI discussion to look beyond beyond risks at the frontier, and towards safe and responsible AI. To capture the broad range perspectives that were surfaced at these events, partner organisations collaborated to draft a White Paper as a means of contributing to and continuing the discussion on responsible AI development and deployment.
House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee inquiry response
Published: February 2024
In September 2023, the Academy submitted written evidence to the House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee’s inquiry on Large Language Models addressing what is needed over the next one to three years to ensure UK readiness to its opportunities and risks.
AI Regulation White Paper Consultation Response
Published: February 2024
The National Engineering Policy Centre submitted the NEPC’s response to the Office of AI’s consultation on the White Paper on AI regulation in March.
o This response was informed by previous NEPC reports on autonomous systems, other consultation responses, joint AI roundtables with BCS, and input from Academy Fellows.
FORUM: Accelerating effective and safe adoption of artificial intelligence in the healthcare system
Published: March 2023
In partnership, the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Academy of Engineering hosted a workshop exploring the barriers and enablers to the adoption of AI in the UK healthcare system. Discussions focused on lessons learned from early adopters of AI in the healthcare system, perspectives from patient representatives, and opportunities for future implementation. The meeting was part of the Academy of Medical Sciences’ FORUM programme of events, bringing together representatives from academia, industry, and health and social care along with patients, regulators, and other relevant stakeholders.
Data sharing
Towards trusted data sharing
Published: 2018
Towards trusted data sharing sets out a series of ten case studies illustrating emerging examples of data sharing and some of the key enablers and constraints, including governance, business models, technologies and regulation. The report provides a practical checklist for organisations hoping to create value from scaling up data sharing activity.
Connecting data
Published: November 2015
Connecting data: driving productivity and innovation investigated how the UK can create a 'data-enabled economy' through the use of data analytics (more colloquially 'big data'), supported by data science and advanced connectivity. The report examined the opportunities for organisations and sectors to improve products and processes and to innovate using data analytics, and explores both universal and sector-specific barriers to success. The sectors investigated were advanced manufacturing, built environment, energy, transport, health, aerospace and defence, and insurance.
Connected infrastructures
Cyber-physical infrastructure
Published: March 2022
The National Engineering Policy Centre hosted a roundtable, as part of the government’s consultation on enabling a national cyber-physical infrastructure to catalyse innovation. Perspectives and expertise from engineering businesses of all sizes, and from different sectors, were brought together alongside researchers to discuss specific questions from the consultation. Key themes included the role of government, opportunities and challenges associated with interoperability, standards, examples of valuable shared building blocks, and risks and opportunities for security and resilience.
Cyber safety and resilience
Published: March 2018
Cyber safety and resilience: strengthening the digital systems that support the modern economy, is a report debating the regulatory and non-regulatory measures required to improve the cyber safety and resilience of systems. Connected health devices are explored as a case study to illustrate the similarities with other sectors and where specific health sector interventions are required to ensure patient safety.
Internet of Things
Published: March 2018
Internet of Things: realising the potential of a trusted smart world, is a collaborative report from the Academy and PETRAS research group presenting the opportunities across consumer, public space and industrial applications of IoT, and outlining the challenges around policy, governance, security, privacy, ethics and skills.
Smart buildings
Published: September 2013
The Academy produced a report of a roundtable discussion looking at the design, creation and use of smart buildings. The roundtable brought together architects, engineers and ICT experts to consider ways to reduce energy use, enable supported living and provide valuable services.
