AI and Business: Opportunity, Threats and Responsibility
This event, part of the University of Bristol Business School’s Thought Leaders Series, brings together innovators and leaders from various organisations with world-leading researchers for insightful conversations. A key aim is to discuss contemporary challenges and opportunities affecting a mixture of sectors, businesses and policy areas in Bristol and beyond.
Our invited speaker for this event is Nigel Toon, the leading AI entrepreneur and founder of Graphcore a British semiconductor company developing AI and machine learning. Nigel’s talk will cover historical perspectives, how AI became possible and what comes next, as well as opportunities, challenges and how to be best prepared.
To register please use the 'Reserve a spot' link. Please note that due to limitations on numbers, we are not able to accept registrations from external universities.
Provisional Programme
Time | Session |
16.00-16.20 16.20-16.30 | Registration, teas and coffee Welcome and Introduction, Sadaf Alam, Bristol Centre for Supercomputing and Isambard-AI |
16.30-17.10 | The Potential Impact of AI, Nigel Toon, Graphcore |
17.10-18.00 | Panel Discussion with Q&A |
18.00-19.00 | Drinks & Networking Reception including an exhibition of the latest Business School research |
About the Speakers
Nigel Toon
Nigel is a leading AI entrepreneur and is the founder and CEO of Graphcore.ai. He sits as a Non-Executive Director on the UK Research and Innovation board and sat on the UK Prime Minister's Business Council. He has been recognised with numerous industry awards, being ranked #1 on Business Insider's UK Tech 100 and named as one of the 'Top 100 entrepreneurs in the UK' by the Financial Times. He was awarded a Doctor of Science degree from the University of Bristol and is the author of the best-selling book How AI Thinks.
Dr Sadaf Alam
Dr. Sadaf Alam is the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Bristol Centre for Supercomputing (BriCS), home to Isambard 3 and Isambard-AI, part of the national AI Research Resource (AIRR). She is also the director of strategy and academia at the Advanced Computing Research Centre (ACRC). Across both roles, she is responsible for the digital transformation of research computing and data services.
Before joining Bristol, Alam was the CTO at CSCS, the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre. She was chief architect for two generations of the Piz Daint innovative flagship supercomputing facilities and the MeteoSwiss operational weather forecasting platforms. From 2004 to 2009, Alam was a computer scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and a staff scientist at the ORNL Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF). She studied computer science at the University of Edinburgh, UK, where she received her PhD. She was a founding member of the Swiss Chapter of Women in HPC.
About the Panellists and Chair
Florian is Professor in Strategy at the University of Bristol Business School. Florian focuses on organizational transformation, particularly non-organic growth strategies like Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A). His research explores how companies can strategically approach and effectively manage M&A to ensure long-term success. Committed to bridging academia and practice, Florian actively collaborates with executives, consultants, and M&A associations. He has participated in numerous M&A processes, supporting firms in shaping acquisition strategies and integration. Since February 2020, he has been editor-in-chief of the M&A Review and is also co-founder and chief research officer of MADiscover GmbH, a start-up specializing in digital M&A screening. His work has appeared in leading journals, including Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management Studies, and Long Range Planning, earning multiple awards such as the “M&A Science Award” (2010, 2015) and the British Academy of Management’s Medal for Research (2022).
Richard is Professor of Innovation Management at the University of Bristol Business School where he studies the ethics, risks, politics and governance of innovation and new technologies in society. Richard is interested in the power of innovation to create futures, how we can engage with those futures and take responsibility for them. He is a member of the University's Centre for Socio-Digital Futures and Cybersecurity Centre for Doctoral Training. He has recently developed a particular interest in the digital afterlife, grief bots and AI-enabled digital recreations of the dead. Last year he began to experiment with generative AI, resulting in the creation of Avatar Rich, a photo-real, voice-cloned avatar of himself that he is still coming to terms with. He has just begun to use this polished and arguably better version of himself in his teaching, the implications and impacts of which will be explored over the coming year.
Sue Turner OBE
Sue is dedicated to using her expertise in AI governance and ethics to inspire people to use AI with wisdom and integrity. With both a University of Bristol Law degree and an MSc in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, she established AI Governance Limited in 2020 to advise businesses and policymakers on pragmatic AI, data ethics and governance issues and making a positive societal impact. She is rated in the World's top 100 women in AI ethics and was awarded the OBE in 2021 for Services to Social Justice.
Location
Burges Salmon, BS2 0ZX