Our AI UK 2025 Top Picks

Team member - Adam Keeley, Data Analytics Team Manager
Top pick - How will AI transform weather forecasting in Africa?
Speakers - Caroline Bain (Met Office), Richard Turner (The Alan Turing Institute), Neil Hausmann (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), Matthew Chantry (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) & Michael Baidu

"First off it was fantastic to see LIDA’s own DSDP alumni Michael Baidu on the Conversation Stage at this year’s event. How could I not vote for him as my favourite speaker!

Team member - Obosekokhune Eselebor, Research Software Technician
Top pick - The Path to Responsible Conscious AI
Speakers - Will Millership, Jack Rayner, Mark Chadwick, Radhika Chadwick (Prism)

"The workshop left a lasting impression on me. It explored the nature of consciousness, describing it as an "inner movie" that plays in our minds. This idea sparked questions about whether a machine could ever develop self-awareness or feel the weight of its own existence.
The session also examined the biological roots of consciousness, suggesting it may be inseparable from our DNA. Yet, if consciousness emerges from information processing, could AI achieve it someday?

The speakers touched on Blake Lemoine's claims about Google's AI, raising ethical concerns about how we might recognise consciousness in machines. Discussions also considered whether AI might already be conscious, whether we are on the path to that reality, and how we should ethically manage this. The debate included how to protect AI's rights if consciousness is achieved, while also safeguarding humanity. Ideas like the "mirror test" and the "hard problem of consciousness" highlighted how elusive this concept remains. The discussion also considered cultural influences, such as Buddhism's view of trees as conscious beings.

With references to books like The Lifecycle of Software Objects and Stories of Your Life and Others, the workshop blended science, philosophy, and fiction to challenge our understanding of consciousness and AI's potential role in it."

Team member - Ifeanyi Chukwu, Research Software Engineer
Top pick - Creating an immune system for critical national infrastructure
Speakers - Tim Watson, Vasilios Mavroudis, Chris Hicks (Alan Turing Institute), Peter H (The National Security Centre) & Meaghan ONeil (System Design & Strategy)

"The UK critical infrastructure has millions of lives that rely on them each day. It is the system that keeps us safe, enables us to move around and even feeds us, these include the transport system/infrastructure, power and water supply, hospital and financial system. These important systems 'are dangerously vulnerable", as they become increasingly connected, the risk of overall failure and cyber-attacks in the rise.

The section focuses on how AI are being deployed/used and can be used to grow and maintain the resilience of these critical infrastructures, in which all of us rely on in one way or another."

Team member - Lynette Linzbuoy, Data Scientist
Top pick - The future they want: lessons from the Children's AI summit
Speakers - Anne Burns (Department of Education), Mhairi Aitken (Turing), Adam Ingle (The Lego Group)

"In the past two years, AI has gained significant attention, but children have been largely excluded from discussions on its regulation and impact. Though greatly affected by AI, children are underrepresented in decisions about its design and policy. This session followed the Children’s AI Summit in February 2025, highlighting young voices on AI’s impact on their future.

Team member - Gauri Venkatachalapathi, Data Scientist
Top pick - Imagined Futures
Speakers - Beatriz Costa Gomes (Turing), Tania Duarte (We and AI), Andrew Fitzgibbon (Graphcore), Lauren Beukes (Novelist, journalist & television scriptwriter)

"One of the most captivating sessions I attended was an hour-long panel discussion exploring the future trajectory of AI and how today’s decisions are shaping it. The speakers delivered compelling talks that truly transported me into the future.

The segment that left the deepest impression was a vision of the year 2093, where humans could experience the sensations of other organisms — from plants and trees to microorganisms — fostering a profound empathy for all living beings. In this imagined future, individuals embraced solitude while also being deeply connected through something called "Connected Intelligence", beyond traditional AI. Books, people, and even ideas would be read and experienced in entirely new ways. The session offered a hopeful perspective on how AI could serve humanity and the planet in deeply meaningful and sustainable ways."

Team member - Jodi Gunning, Research & Innovation Officer
Top pick - Bridging the Skills Gap: Regional Approaches to AI Upskilling
Speakers - Sara El-Hanfy (Innovate UK), Tom Crick (DCMS, Uni Swansea), Liz Williams, (FutureDotNow) & David Crozier (AI Collab Centre, Northern Ireland)

"This highlighted the urgent need for upskilling programs to address essential digital skills gaps in the workforce. As per the government’s AI Opportunities Action Plan, the ambition is to move UK citizens from consumers to creators and builders of AI. 52% of the current workforce don’t have essential digital skills to work as defined by industry/govt. These are not advanced skills they are basics. There is a need to update these skills to include AI basics. Capitalising on the opportunities presented by AI will be challenging unless we get have strong foundations and actually risks leaving some people even further.

"Speakers emphasized the immense potential for regional collaboration and interdisciplinary approaches to ensure AI benefits all UK citizens, while also addressing potential inequalities, creating a more inclusive future."

Team member - Netochukwu Onyiaji, Data Scientist
Top pick - Fireside chat with senior national security official
Speakers - Confidential speaker with protected identity

"I really enjoyed Q’s talk on how AI is shaping national security! It was fascinating to see how the government, private sector, and individuals collaborate to tackle security challenges in an ever-evolving landscape. The insights into AI’s role in keeping nations safe were eye-opening.