CYBER SECURITY EXPERT APPOINTED TO UK AI COUNCIL 
20 May 2019
Queen's University cyber security expert, Professor Máire O'Neill, has been appointed to the UK’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Council, the body set up to improve the understanding of AI and to encourage diversity across the sector.
Leaders from business, academia and data privacy organisations have joined the independent expert committee, which has been created to help boost growth of AI in the UK, and promote its adoption and ethical use in businesses and organisations across the country.
The news was announced jointly by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).
Professor O'Neill is Professor of Information Security in ECIT, the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Queen's; Principal Investigator at the Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) at Queen's; and Director of the UK Research Institute in Secure Hardware and Embedded Systems (RISE) at CSIT.
Digital Secretary, Jeremy Wright, said: “Britain is already a leading authority in AI. We are home to some of the world’s finest academic institutions, landing record levels of investment to the sector and attracting the best global tech talent, but we must not be complacent.
“Through our AI Council we will continue this momentum by leveraging the knowledge of experts from a range of sectors to provide leadership on the best use and adoption of artificial intelligence across the economy.
“Under the leadership of Tabitha Goldstaub the Council will represent the UK AI Sector on the international stage and help us put in place the right skills and practices to make the most of data-driven technologies.”
Speaking about her appointment Professor O’Neill said: “I am delighted to have been invited to join the AI council by Tabitha Goldstaub, the AI Council Chair, and Dame Wendy Hall, due to my background in cyber security.
“AI has an ever-increasing role to play in cyber security in terms of fraud prevention, threat and vulnerability analysis, and video analytics. At CSIT we have been working in these areas for some time – CSIT is celebrating 10 years of impact this year – and the application of AI in cyber security is a key focus of our future research strategy.
“I am looking forward to my role on the council and working alongside such a diverse group of representatives from industry, academia and the public sector, covering both the technology and ethical considerations of AI.”
Regarded as one of Europe’s leading cryptography experts, Máire O'Neill was the youngest engineering professor in Queen's University history. From Glenties in County Donegal, she was also the youngest Irish Academy of Engineering fellow; and is a former UK Female Inventor of the Year. Among other contributions to cyber security, Professor O’Neill has invented a high-speed silicon security chip that is used in more than 100 million TV set-top boxes around the world. She holds a MEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering (1999), and a PhD (2002) from Queen’s.
Earlier this year (06 March) Professor O’Neill was honoured at a gala dinner and ceremony at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, when she was awarded US$30,000 in the second annual Blavatnik Awards in the UK, which honour outstanding young scientists under the age of 42.
Tabitha Goldstaub, AI Council Chair and AI Business Champion, said: “I’m thrilled the AI Council membership has been announced, convening a brilliant mix of experts who have agreed to offer their time, experience and insight to support the growth and responsible adoption of AI in the UK.
“If we are to grasp the full benefits of AI technologies it is vital all of the AI community comes together and works with the AI Council to create an open dialogue between industry, academia and the public sector, so we can see social and economic benefits for all of society.”
Dame Wendy Hall, Regius Professor of Computer Science at the University of Southampton and AI Skills Champion, said: “It is wonderful to see the recommendations of the AI Review that I co-authored coming into reality with the announcement about the AI Council. I am delighted to be joining the Council as the UK’s AI Skills Champion.
“AI is hugely important to the UK’s growth and global reputation, and the work of the Council will seek to improve the understanding of AI across the UK to encourage diversity across the sector.”
Confirmation of the AI Council memberships comes on the first anniversary of the AI Sector Deal, a billion-pound joint government and industry deal to put the nation at the forefront of emerging technologies.
Media enquiries to Jemma Greenlees at Queen’s University Communications Office, tel: +44 (0)28 9097 3087.
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