The University of Oxford is set to share an £80 million investment to develop next-generation artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The funding, from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), will support nine new AI research hubs in the UK, including one at Oxford’s Department of Computer Science. Led by Professor Michael Bronstein, the Oxford hub will focus on the mathematics and computational research foundational to AI. The research program will bring together almost 40 researchers from various departments at Oxford. The hub will also train at least 13 PhD students and collaborate with several UK universities and industry partners.
Oxford University to Share in Major AI Research Funding
The University of Oxford is set to be a part of a significant £80 million investment aimed at developing advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The funding, provided by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), will support the establishment of nine new AI research hubs across the UK. One of these hubs will be located at the University of Oxford’s Department of Computer Science.
The Oxford hub, under the leadership of Professor Michael Bronstein, will concentrate on the mathematical and computational research that forms the basis of AI. The hub aims to discover new, more efficient AI systems by utilizing theoretical tools from mathematical fields that are currently underexplored. The research program will involve nearly 40 researchers from Oxford’s Department of Computer Science, the Mathematical Institute, and the Department of Statistics. They will focus on developing rigorous mathematical answers to four fundamental questions that underlie modern AI and machine learning systems.
The Four Fundamental Questions of AI
The research program at the Oxford hub will focus on answering four fundamental questions that underpin modern AI and machine learning systems. These questions include how mathematical approaches can be used to reveal hidden structures in data that can be exploited by a new class of machine learning models, and whether mathematical tools can be used to characterize machine learning models to understand when and how they work and fail.
The researchers will also explore how learning and optimization algorithms can benefit from structures underlying machine learning models to develop better, more efficient, and safer AI models. Lastly, they will investigate how to build self-adaptive AI systems that understand their limitations and can safely make decisions potentially affecting billions of people.
The Erlangen Programme for AI
Professor Bronstein drew a parallel between the current state of AI and the Erlangen Programme, a revolutionary unifying theory for geometry published by Felix Klein in 1872. This theory had a profound impact across mathematics, leading to the emergence of many new fields. Bronstein suggests that it’s time for a similar “Erlangen Programme” for AI, based on rigorous mathematical principles that would bring better understanding of existing AI models and lead to the development of a new generation of methods.
The new research program aims to break barriers between different fields and bring together a diverse group of leading UK experts for strong cross-fertilization. Besides exploiting tools from currently underexplored mathematical fields, this work will attract the attention of theoreticians to new problems and applications relating to AI and machine learning.
Broad Geographic Coverage and Industry Collaboration
Although based at Oxford, the hub will have a broad geographic coverage across the UK, bringing together leading experts in the mathematical, algorithmic, and computational fields underpinning AI and machine learning systems as well as their applications in scientific and industrial settings. Close links with a range of industry partners will enable the research team to test promising models in applied settings, and achieve early impact.
The hub will also contribute to developing the next generation of AI researchers, and will train at least 13 PhD students. These students will obtain a rare combination of knowledge and skills in the mathematical and algorithmic foundations of AI as well as its applications, positioning them to develop cutting-edge AI systems in the UK and beyond.
Partnerships and Future Prospects
In addition to the University of Oxford, the program involves researchers at the University of Aberdeen, Durham University, Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London, and the University of Southampton. A diverse range of leading industry partners have committed to support the new CDT over the next five years, contributing a further £2 million in total in staff time, training and secondments, and co-funding for PhD students, besides £3.25 million in data resources.
UKRI is supporting researchers and innovators to develop the next generation of AI technologies that will transform our economy and society. The investments announced today will help to deliver the capability the UK needs to realize the opportunities of this transformative technology.
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