First AI safety summit for the North East to be hosted at Northumbria University

Northumbria will host a conference with Dynamo North East, exploring Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the impact it is having on our lives, during a time of profound technological transformation.

In collaboration with Dynamo North East - an industry-led membership organisation with the core mission to ‘grow the North East tech economy’ - Dr Kimberley Hardcastle and Dr Colin Richardson from Northumbria’s Newcastle Business School, will host Dynamo Talks: The North East AI Safety Summit, bringing together businesses and organisations from across the North East, to articulate a regional voice around the use of AI in industry.

There will be a cutting-edge panel discussion with experts in the industry on the latest opportunities and threats in the field of Artificial Intelligence, covering ethics, regulation and responsible development. Like-minded individuals, experts and professionals will also have the opportunity to connect, to help drive positive change in industries and influence AI policies.

Dr Hardcastle, Assistant Professor in Marketing, explained: “I believe it is vital that we capture and articulate a regional voice on the opportunities and threats around AI for local people, organisations and businesses,” Dr Hardcastle said. “Influencing AI regulation at Parliament is essential to ensure a prosperous and responsible AI-driven future for our region and beyond.

“We are at a unique moment for technology. We haven't even dealt with the issues brought about by social media technologies, yet AI has the potential to create further societal problems that must be averted. We know that the best time to influence a medium is at the very beginning of its trajectory. We want to position the North East at the forefront of the global conversation on AI safety and this event at Northumbria is the first real opportunity to do this before the UK Government hosts the first Global AI Safety Summit next month.”

Al Alzein, Membership Engagement Manager at Dynamo, added: “Dynamo is the voice of the North East tech sector and therefore we are delighted to be partnering up with Northumbria University – long-term Dynamo members – to give our region an opportunity to get involved in the AI safety debate via this event.

“There are so many fantastic people and businesses in our region with a plethora of perspectives on this topic, and we want people to attend this event and get involved in the conversation to give the North East a say.”

The North East AI Safety Summit is officially part of the AI Fringe Programme - a series of events hosted across the UK to complement the UK Government’s AI Safety Summit, by bringing a broad and diverse range of voices into the conversation around responsible AI. Northumbria’s event will kick-start the Dynamo Talks series and will take place on Friday 27 October from 8:00am to 10:00am in The Great Hall at the University’s City Campus.

The event will culminate with an opportunity to join The North East AI Responsibility Network, which will act as a voice for the region, ensuring its AI requirements are accommodated. The network will comprise academics, industry professionals, businesses leaders, policymakers and community representatives.

Find out more information and register to attend The North East AI Safety Summit by visiting our website.