Why AI cannot belong to computer science alone - Alessandro Di Nuovo
Artificial intelligence and robotics are no longer technologies of the distant future. They are already changing how we work, how we deliver healthcare, how businesses innovate and how public services operate.
The question facing South Yorkshire is not whether this transformation will happen. It is whether we will help shape it – and, crucially, whether we can shape it in a way that benefits everyone.
I believe we can.
The launch of Sheffield Hallam University’s Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CEAIR) marks an important step towards making South Yorkshire a leader not only in technological innovation, but in ethical, inclusive and human-centred AI and robotics. The Centre brings together expertise from across the University with industry, healthcare and public-sector partners to address real-world challenges.
This is an opportunity that reaches far beyond the university campus.
South Yorkshire has a proud history of innovation, engineering and industry. We understand that technology matters because of what it enables people and communities to achieve. That heritage gives us an important advantage as we enter the age of AI.
But leadership in AI should not simply mean having the most powerful systems or the largest technology companies. It should mean asking better questions about how those systems are designed, who they serve and what impact they have.
Can we trust AI? Does it protect privacy? How will it affect people's jobs and skills? These are not questions that should be treated as obstacles to innovation. They are essential to it.
At CEAIR, we believe the future belongs to technologies that empower people rather than simply replace them.
We are already putting that principle into practice. For more than a decade, researchers at Sheffield Hallam have worked with Sheffield Children’s Hospital to explore how intelligent robots can support children with disabilities. Elsewhere, our research is addressing inequalities in maternity care, exploring socially aware robots and developing trustworthy and secure autonomous systems.
Our €7.3 million PRIMI project is developing socially interactive autonomous robots that could support stroke rehabilitation, while other research is exploring how robots can learn and adapt in ways inspired by human development.
What connects these projects is not simply sophisticated technology. It is the human problem we are trying to solve. That distinction matters.
AI should help a clinician make a better decision, not remove clinical judgement. A robot should support someone recovering from illness or injury, not diminish their independence. Digital public services should become more responsive and equitable, not create new barriers for people who are already disadvantaged.
This is also why AI cannot belong to computer science alone.
The most important innovations of the next decade will emerge from collaboration between engineers, computer scientists, healthcare professionals, psychologists, social scientists, businesses, policymakers and – critically – the people who will actually use these technologies.
Our region is particularly well placed to build that model.
Professor Alessandro Di Nuovo is director of the Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at Sheffield Hallam University.