Be part of an exclusive event with Sir Nigel Shadbolt, a distinguished authority in artificial intelligence, as he examines the critical issues defining data and AI. Reprising the ‘State of the Data Nation’ interview that was a standard feature of every ODI Summit between 2013 and 2023, Sir Nigel will reflect on another year of seismic shifts and changes in the world of data, AI and technology more broadly.
The session will be chaired by Emma Thwaites, the ODI’s Director of Global Policy and Corporate Affairs, and there will be an opportunity to ask questions.
This webinar is suitable for participants of all knowledge levels.
Speaker
Sir Nigel Shadbolt Executive Chair & Co-founder of the ODI
Sir Nigel Shadbolt is Executive Chair of the Open Data Institute, which he co-founded with Sir Tim Berners-Lee in 2012. He is one of the UK’s foremost computer scientists. Sir Nigel was one of the originators of the interdisciplinary field of web science and is a leading researcher in artificial intelligence. He is Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Oxford and a visiting Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Southampton.
In 2009, the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, appointed him and Sir Tim Berners-Lee as Information Advisors to transform access to Public Sector Information. This work led to the data.gov.uk site that now provides a portal to tens of thousands of datasets. In 2010, he joined the UK government’s Public Sector Transparency Board, overseeing Open Data releases across the public sector. He continues to advise the Government in a number of roles and in 2025 he was appointed to the Council for Science and Technology, which advises the Prime Minister and the Cabinet on strategic science and technology policy issues that cut across the responsibilities of individual government departments.
In May 2024 he published ‘As If Human: Ethics and Artificial Intelligence’, co-written with Roger Hampson, which provides a new approach to the challenges surrounding AI.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow and former President of the British Computer Society. He was knighted in 2013 for ‘services to science and engineering’.
Chair
Emma Thwaites, Director of Global Policy and Corporate Affairs, ODI
Emma’s portfolio at the ODI encompasses public policy, events and engagement, Data as Culture, communications and marketing, and ODI Membership. Emma has over 30 years of strategic business experience, gained in senior roles at the BBC and UK Cabinet Office, and founding and running a successful consultancy practice. A former journalist and editor, Emma is a member of the ODI’s Executive Leadership team and advises the board. She is a member of the advisory panel of the Diversity Economics Institute and Executive Chair of Allegory
About the event
The event will be held on Zoom, and a Zoom link will be emailed to all participants. The event will be recorded and shared afterwards.