This panel, hosted by LSE Data Science Institute, LSE Digital Skills Lab and LSE100, brings together academics, practitioners and industry leaders to discuss strategies and interventions for developing AI literacy in their organisations. Beyond simply understanding AI technologies and how they work, AI literacy involves acquiring essential skills and competencies which are key for using AI-driven technology effectively, viewing these technologies critically, and questioning their design and implementation. While some might associate AI literacy with professional competence, its importance extends to critical thinking and understanding the impacts AI is having on the world around us.  

Throughout the discussion, the panel considers different trajectories of AI literacy development, particularly focusing on non-technical experts for whom AI will be a crucial part of their everyday work. How do we develop early AI literacy in the classrooms of schools and universities? How can the public sector develop AI literacy amongst civil servants? When and how should organisations across industries implement training and development for AI literacy in their teams?  

The panel draws on their extensive experience across a range of fields to offer concrete recommendations for the development and delivery of AI literacy tools in different settings, providing a useful roadmap for audience members to apply to their own contexts. Key takeaways from the panel will include practical steps and strategies for supporting AI literacy in diverse teams. 

Watch the event recording. 

More about this event

This event forms part of AI UK Fringe. AI UK Fringe is organised by the Alan Turing Institute. Through a series of events between 4 – 29 March 2024, AI UK Fringe brings together leaders in academia from across the UK’s AI ecosystem to demonstrate, exhibit and update on their ground-breaking work.

Chair

• Emma McCoy is LSE’s Vice President and Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education, and Professor in the Department of Statistics. She has a broad interest in education, particularly in Mathematics and Data Science. She is a member of the Royal Society’s Advisory Committee for Mathematics Education (ACME) and a governor of the Imperial College London Mathematics School. Her current research interests are in developing time-series, wavelet, and propensity score methodology for robust estimation of continuous treatment effects, particularly in a transport setting.

Panelists

• Cody Dodd is a technologist who supports national, sub-national and municipal governments around the world in their adoption of ethical human-centric AI technologies and practices, especially those that enable service improvement and better data management. Accessible technologies are helping departments track thousands of citizen voices and experiences in near real-time, but special care is needed for maximizing replicability while minimizing new sources of risks and bias.
• Cecilia Nunn is the Responsible AI Lead at Digital Catapult. She works with businesses, government, start-ups, academics and investors to put ethics into practice and sits in the All-Party Parliamentary Group for AI, as well as the BRAID (Bridging Responsible AI Divides) board. Nunn has managed multi-million-pound international digital projects for leading technology companies such as Google, and currently leads the responsible AI work for a programme with Innovate UK. Mission-driven by programming, design and the use of tech to transform society, she's extremely passionate about getting more women into STEM and has taught software engineering on the Code First Girls course. Having originally come from a humanities background in international relations, she blends this experience with her more recent technical expertise. 
• Jillian Terry is an Associate Professor (Education) and Co-Director of LSE100, the sector-leading flagship interdisciplinary course for undergraduates at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is also a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Jillian completed her PhD in International Relations at LSE in 2016, where her research explored feminist theories for understanding the ethics of war, particularly in the context of contemporary practices of technological warfare. Currently, Jillian’s work focuses on designing innovative interdisciplinary curricula, inclusive pedagogies, and the impacts of AI on teaching and learning.
• Ashley Winton Formerly a computer designer, Ashley is an AI partner at Mishcon de Reya LLP. Ashley advises on the data aspects of new technologies, including eiDAS, encryption, tokenisation, digital transformation, virtualisation, machine learning and artificial intelligence.  Ashley has particular expertise in international data transfers, including developing a number of Binding Corporate Rules for major international corporations.  Ashley is a Ponemon Institute Fellow and for over 10 years has been the Chairman of the Data Protection Forum, the longest running independent data protection group in the UK. He regularly speaks at industry and academic conferences. Since 2001, Ashley has been recognised by the legal directories such as Chambers and Partners Guide to the Legal Profession and the Legal 500 Directory for his expertise in both data and information technology.

Hashtag for this event: #LSEDSI