Oxford University to receive share of £32.4m for research

The funding, announced on Monday (September 2), comes from the UK Research and Innovation’s new cross research council responsive mode (CRCRM) pilot scheme.

The scheme aims to unlock new research, approaches, and methods not possible from established disciplinary thinking, encourage new types of interdisciplinary research, and support research that will be potentially transformative for the participating disciplines.

Two of the projects to be funded by the scheme will be led by University of Oxford researchers.

The first, CHAILD - Children's Agency In the age of AI: Leveraging InterDisciplinarity, will be led by professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt from the Department of Computer Science.

Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt (Image: Ed Nix)

It will focus on fostering children's autonomy in societies where childhood has become intertwined with artificial intelligence systems.

It will bring together a team of computer scientists, learning scientists, social scientists, philosophers, and public policy partners to define effective methods to create AI systems that actively foster and promote children’s agency.

To achieve this, the research team will work directly with children to understand their needs.

Sir Nigel said: "The outcomes of our project will shift the current mindset where children are passive consumers of technologies towards one where AI systems are designed to respect, nurture, and scaffold the development of autonomy in children.

"Currently, children’s agency is particularly vulnerable to technological influence and datafication, designed to exploit their autonomy and shape their behaviours and decision-making.

"This project will co-design principles for creating agency-fostering child-centric AI systems, and produce breakthrough empirical evidence through evaluating prototype designs."

The other project, three-dimensional patterning of cultured tissue using light-sensitive molecules, led by professor Matthew Fuchter of the Department of Chemistry, will focus on tissue engineering.

Professor Matthew Fuchter (Image: University of Oxford)

The project will aim to replicate the 3D complexity of human tissues for engineering purposes using precise light stimuli.

Professor Fuchter said: "I am extremely excited about the potential of this project, which leverages scientific expertise developed over many years in my research group.

"Through the proof-of-concept data we plan to generate in this funded work, we believe our methodology may hold much promise in the future for regenerative medicine."

He added: "Successful achievement of this aim will provide a proof of concept that can be developed into downstream applications which would have transformational and disruptive impact.

"For example, using light-patterning to recreate complex 2D and 3D architectures of healthy or dysfunctional cells will allow for the generation of models to study diseases, models to investigate personalised medicine, models for further developmental biology studies, or the creation of synthetic organs."