Scottish AI Summit
Glasgow Science Centre
11 December 2024
Trustworthy, Ethical, and Inclusive
The Scottish AI Alliance was at Glasgow Science Centre on the 11th of December to showcasing Scotland’s leading role in the development of trustworthy, ethical, and inclusive AI.
Our Speakers
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Lucy leads the Responsive Operations team at Craft Prospect, where she focuses on developing autonomous systems for nano satellites. With an MSc in Artificial Intelligence and Applications from the University of Strathclyde, Lucy has been with Craft Prospect since 2020. She specializes in creating and deploying reliable AI for onboard feature detection and data processing, supporting a range of Earth observation applications.
Outside of her professional work, Lucy is passionate about mentoring students and advocating for diversity in the space and engineering sector. She holds a design degree from the Glasgow School of Art, which reflects her strong creative background. In her free time, Lucy enjoys spending time in nature, particularly exploring Scotland through hiking, wildlife watching, and swimming.
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Kasia Molga (UK/PL) has refused to be labelled – design fusionist, artist, environmentalist, creative coder and technologist who for over a decade has sought ways of collaboration with nature, predominantly focusing on the ever-changing human relation to and perception of the natural environment and fellow ‘earthlings’. Her award winning work has been exhibited worldwide (i,e. Ars Electronica, Tate Modern, MIS (BR), Centre Pompidou and more). Kasia has taken part in many international art & science residencies and has lectured and mentored regularly in the EU and UK. An affinity with the ocean is evident in Kasia’s work, born from her time growing up on merchant navy vessels with her sailor father and she is the proud holder of a diving licence. studiomolga.com
Our Panelists
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Helen McElhinney leads CDAC Network – the global alliance of organisations working to ensure people can access safe, trustworthy information and communicate during crises. Previously a humanitarian aid worker and civil servant, Helen held senior advisory roles within DFID and FCDO, and worked at posts in Sana’a and Riyadh and across HMG for more than a decade. In recent years, Helen joined the International Committee of the Red Cross as Head of Policy for UK and Ireland.
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Andy is a dynamic, entrepreneurial leader with a proven track record in founding, leading and growing successful businesses. As a commercially driven director and strategic leader, he has secured over £40m in international contracts and public tenders, demonstrating abilities in strategic vision and innovation-driven commercial growth.
Since 2014, he has been involved in space-based STEM education through his relationship with ISSET, demonstrating his commitment to inspiring the next generation of space professionals by sending high school experiments to the International Space Station.
In 2022, he established the Scottish Space Network community, later becoming Space Network, underscoring his dedication to advancing the space sector. He mentors a number of space sector start-ups and has even sent a Haggis to the edge of Space in 2021.
In 2019 he was awarded an honorary Doctorate by the University of the West of Scotland and in 2024 was appointed as Chair at Young Enterprise Scotland.
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Dr Birgit Schippers is Lecturer in Law at the University of Strathclyde. Her research examines the impact of artificial intelligence on human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Birgit’s specific interests focus on the collective and societal effects of AI-driven biometric technologies, such as facial and emotion recognition systems. Her work champions the development of values-led, ethical and lawful solutions for AI that are anchored in best practice in international human rights law. Beyond academia, Birgit collaborates with national and international think tanks and civil society organisations in the field of digital human rights.
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Karen Wilson joins us from Scotland’s national economic development agency, Scottish Enterprise. Karen has led the organisation’s work to scale growth in the country’s space industry for over 10 years, focusing on innovation, investment and international to transform Scotland’s future economy. This has included supporting many businesses working across the sector in Scotland – our innovative home-grown companies and key international companies that have chosen Scotland as a strategic base. Karen also develops Scottish Enterprise collaborative projects and wider initiatives which enable mutual growth for the Scottish industry, including working with key partners such as the UK Space Agency and Space Scotland.
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Ewan McMillan is the Founder and Managing Director of New Gradient, an Edinburgh-based AI consultancy and development firm. Leveraging his background in theoretical physics and artificial intelligence, Ewan has pioneered the implementation of cutting-edge AI solutions across diverse sectors, ranging from e-commerce to quarrying. In a recent venture, Ewan and the New Gradient team have partnered with Caledonian Climate to harness AI for enhancing the insurability and investability of peatland restoration projects, an initiative supported and funded by UKRI.
Programme
12:30
Doors open
13:00
Welcome from Steph Wright, Head of the Scottish AI Alliance
13: 05 - 13:40
Kasia Molga - the sustainability of AI
13:40 - 14:30
Panel discussion - the sustainability of AI with Ewan McMillan, Birgit Schippers, and Helen McElhinney
14:30 - 15:00
Break
15:00 - 15:30
Announcement from the Scottish AI Alliance
15:30 - 16:05
Lucy Donnell - AI and the Scottish space industry
16:05 - 16:45
Panel discussion - AI and the Scottish space industry with Lucy Donnell, Andy Campbell, and Karen Wilson
16:45 - 17:00
Networking
17:00
End
Highlights of previous Scottish AI Summits
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