Exeter experts showcase research at The Alan Turing Institute’s AIUK conference

University of Exeter experts are showcasing their pioneering AI and Data Science research, designed to help tackle some of the most pressing global challenges, at a prominent national event.

Researchers from Exeter’s Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence are taking part in The Alan Turing Institute’s AIUK conference 2024 – held on March 19^th and 20^th 2024.

The Exeter team has a strong presence at the event, showcasing a range of interdisciplinary research using data science and AI including focussing on applications for environment and sustainability, defence, AI safety and leading a discussion on skills and expertise development for data science and AI. 

Professor Richard Everson, the Turing University lead for the University of Exeter, is showcasing the work of the Bluebird project alongside colleagues and collaborators from the University, the Turing and NATS; the project aims to deliver the world’s first AI system to control a section of airspace in live shadow trials.  The team are working with air traffic controllers to understand the complexities of their role, and using digital twinning and methods that promote safe and trustworthy use of AI.

Professor Everson said: ”The Bluebird project is a great example of researchers from the University and the Turing working with industry to tackle a novel use of AI in a real-world applications,  importantly incorporating trustworthy AI systems for safe and secure system development.  I am pleased to be demonstrating this research alongside so many other exciting research projects and discussions around different aspects of data science and AI at the Turing’s AIUK.”

Exeter is also represented at a number of other main stands at the conference.

Charlie Kirkwood was showcasing research focusing on the use of AI in geological modelling and mapping.  Charlie provided a demonstration of the use of AI in geological mapping and will discuss the applications of this research. 

Aline Villavicencio, Director of the Institute for Data Science and AI,  and colleagues demonstrated the limits of the understanding of large language models and showcasing how they handle idiomatic and figurative language.

Ke Li, Jack Cole, Phoenix Williams and colleagues are presenting research on an adversarial attack to fool deep neural networks for computer vision tasks and adversarial defence to protect deep neural networks for natural language processing tasks.   –

Federico Botta, Ronaldo Menezes, Liam Berrisford and collaborators from Northeastern London University presented urban analytics research around estimation of air quality, travel time variability in buses, intersectionality in mobility and changes of mobility during covid 19, and role of data science in analysing government administrative datasets to inform policy. 

Danny Williamson, Amy Binner and colleagues within the EPSRC funded ADDTREES project at the University showcases their approach to using data science and AI for informing policy aimed at achieving net zero through decisions around planting new woodlands and forests.

Jacqueline Christmas, Zena Wood and colleagues from the Universities of Surrey and Liverpool showcased the work of the Dstl funded Defence Data Science Research Centre which focuses on advancing technical and cultural capabilities at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) in their use of data science and AI.

Professor Aline Villavicencio, Director of the Institute for Data Science and AI at the University of Exeter said: “We are delighted that the University is showcasing many interdisciplinary data science and AI research projects from across a range of departments from the University, and to be sharing ideas and best practice through discussions with the wider national community at AIUK.”

Eilis Hannon presented her Alan Turing Institute Skills Policy Award at a skills workshop on building a resilient AI workforce.

The University of Exeter Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (IDSAI) provides a hub for data-intensive science and artificial intelligence (AI) activity within the University and the wider region.

IDSAI’s vision for data science is to innovate new means of interrogating and understanding data and then to innovate and apply cutting-edge data analytical methodologies to diverse questions The Institute is truly interdisciplinary, with associated data scientists, mathematicians, and computer specialists based across all of our Faculties, Research Institutes, and Departments.‌

For more information  please visit Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | Institute for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | University of Exeter