The Generative AI Laboratory enters a new exciting era with the appointment of three University of Edinburgh academics – Professor Jane Hillston MBE, Professor Kev Dhaliwal, and Professor Mirella Lapata - to form an interim directorship team. The Generative AI Laboratory (GAIL) enters a new exciting era with the appointment of three University of Edinburgh academics – Professor Jane Hillston, Professor Kev Dhaliwal, and Professor Mirella Lapata - to form an interim directorship team. This move marks a significant step in the University’s commitment to remaining at the forefront of AI research and innovation and builds upon its 61-year legacy as a pioneer in the field of AI.Professor Jane Hillston, a distinguished computer scientist whose work has been instrumental in the modelling and analysis of complex systems, will be bringing her substantial experience in theoretical and practical aspects of computing. Her significant leadership experience will be vital in bringing together academics from across the University to work with GAIL. Wes Cockx & Google DeepMind / Better Images of AI / AI large language models / CC-BY 4.0 I am delighted to be joining GAIL at this exciting stage of its development and look forward shaping the opportunities for colleagues from across the University to engage with generative AI. Professor Jane Hillston Chair in Quantitative Modelling and Co-Director, University of Edinburgh's Generative AI Laboratory Joining her is Professor Mirella Lapata, a renowned researcher in natural language processing and machine learning. Her work has consistently pushed the boundaries of how machines understand and generate human-like text, offering significant implications for automating communication and enhancing human- machine interaction. Edinburgh is very well placed to push forward the science underpinning generative AI as well as the potential applications and create significant impact. We expect our research to be transformational and lay the foundations for the next 60 years of AI at Edinburgh. Professor Mirella Lapata Chair in Natural Language Processing and Co-Director, University of Edinburgh's Generative AI Laboratory Completing the team is Professor Kev Dhaliwal, a clinician scientist based in the University's Baillie Gifford Pandemic Science Hub. His expertise in healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship promises to bridge the gap between generative AI technologies and biomedical implementation. By harnessing the power of AI, it is possible to bring major advancements to patient care and medical research. GAIL is an inspiring initiative that will bring together wonderful colleagues and teams from across all three colleges of the university. I look forward to supporting the team to help our collective endeavours to improve outcomes for patients and advancing our understanding of disease. Professor Kev Dhaliwal Chair of Molecular Imaging and Healthcare Technology and Co-Director, University of Edinburgh's Generative AI Laboratory Generative AI potentials GAIL, under this new directorship, is set to explore the vast potentials of AI, focusing on ethical and sustainable AI development, enhancing machine learning models, fostering interdisciplinary collaborations, and solving real-world problems.Next steps for GAIL will include the launch of the GAIL Fellows scheme, which will be open to applications from academics across the University. GAIL Fellows will have access to compute resource, access to other members of the GAIL community via seminars and workshops, the ability to apply for seed funding, and support from the GAIL research engineer.Please follow the GAIL LinkedIn page to keep updated on all our latest news as we enter this new phase of our development. Related linksFind out more about the GAIL directorship teamThis news story was written with the assistance of generative AI. Publication date 09 Oct, 2024
