Social and ethical
Applications
Models
Examining how AI and machine learning impact society. Ensuring that the use of AI applications does not cause harm or increase inequality.
Implementing machine learning models into a larger software system. Not responsible for training.
Creating machine learning models. Training and testing models. Developing different types of model to solve specific problems.
Jessica Yung
Research Engineer
What is your favourite part of your job?
Trying out new ideas and discussing them with my teammates
Background in AI
I learned about it in my own time, did a Master’s in AI, and starting working in industry.
Key attributes
Collaborative
Curious
Passionate
Patient
Hobbies outside of work
Playing music, hanging out with my friends, and climbing
Job description
Build and improve machine learning models for real-world applications
Skanda Koppula
Research Engineer
What is your favourite part of your job?
Being able to work with kind and bright colleagues, working on problems that might advance science and technology
Background in AI
I was curious about various language and vision tools I saw being used in games online, so I started taking online classes in university. I then started working on a few personal AI-related projects with friends at the time. These projects led to my first few internships working on machine learning topics, and my first job in the field.
Key attributes
Collaborative
Curious
Passionate
Patient
Hobbies outside of work
Hiking, baking, and reading
Job description
I work on research problems in computer vision and video understanding!
Stevie Bergman
Senior Research Scientist, Ethics Research
What is your favourite part of your job?
My favourite part of my job is how wide-ranging and impactful the questions are. Technology affects everything!
Background in AI
I’m a scientist by training. I studied physics in graduate school, but also did many things (such as legal work and teaching in the Peace Corps) that were more related to rights, ethics, and law. These come together for my current work as a researcher that studies technology and society.
Key attributes
Communicator
Creative
Curious
Patient
Hobbies outside of work
I LOVE doing gymnastics and riding my bike. I also like to learn new languages and listen to music.
Job description
In my job, I research questions where science and technology can impact people, and how we can make the technology more beneficial for people, and less harmful.
James Spencer
Science Software Engineer
What is your favourite part of your job?
Working in a team of enthusiastic, talented, hard-working people who are great to learn from and building powerful, insightful models to better understand chemistry, physics, and materials science
Background in AI
I did a chemistry degree, during which I learned I didn’t want to be an experimentalist. I moved on to a PhD in computational chemistry. No AI up to that point and I didn’t learn to program until my mid-20s!
After this, DeepMind were looking at applying AI to science. I was fortunate to get a job in the science team and have learned everything I know about AI here!
Key attributes
Collaborative
Curious
Observant
Self-motivated
Hobbies outside of work
Running marathons, martial arts, and listening to obscure indie bands
Job description
I work on using machine learning to improve our understanding of quantum chemistry and physics. Developing neural networks and training models.
Antonia Paterson
Responsible Development and Innovation (ReDI), Science Manager
What is your favourite part of your job?
It’s really inspiring to work at the forefront of cutting-edge science, and have the opportunity to shape how we approach it. I especially like interacting with so many different teams across the company and being able to continually learn from experts from different fields.
Background in AI
I studied neuroscience at university and have always been fascinated by how the brain works. Much about what we know of human intelligence has inspired work in the field of AI. Working in AI allows me to use my degree, whilst supporting the creation of transformational technology.
Key attributes
Collaborative
Hard-working
Passionate
Resilient
Hobbies outside of work
Outside of work I’m a keen but amateur cook, full-time pilates enthusiast, and part-time consumer of ITV dramas.
Job description
The ReDI team work across all areas of the organisation to think through both the short- and long-term benefits and risks of projects. As Science Manager, I use my domain expertise to consider the impacts of using AI for groundbreaking scientific research.
Murilo Martins
Robotics Research Engineer
What is your favourite part of your job?
I use AI to make actual real robots learn.
Background in AI
As a child I was always interested in taking my toys apart to see how they worked on the inside. Back then, there were no Raspberry Pis or 3D printers. I only had access to a computer to learn programming when I started my university degree in engineering.
I got involved in a project using reinforcement learning to make robots learn how to play football. I have been working on the intersection of robotics and AI ever since. I would never have thought that my childhood interests would lead me to work in AI, but it turns out AI is everywhere and it’s relevant to any subject.
Key attributes
Curious
Hard-working
Passionate
Tenacious
Hobbies outside of work
Sports (tennis and football), baking (bread), and woodworking
Job description
I find interesting problems for robots to solve. I then design experiments that represent the problem (e.g. inserting a key into a keyhole). I build and set up the robots, cameras, sensors, and objects. I then apply AI to make the robots learn how to solve the problems.
Jonas Adler
Senior Research Scientist
What is your favourite part of your job?
Easy: the people
Background in AI
I studied physics, and got an internship with a medical technology company during my undergrad. I spent a long time in medtech, starting by predicting heart attacks using pacemaker data and later working extensively on medical imaging.
Key attributes
Collaborative
Curious
Open-minded
Self-motivated
Hobbies outside of work
These days I look after my toddler and do cooking (mostly Chinese, but I had a ramen period last year).
Job description
I develop new AI methodology applied to the natural sciences, mostly in biology.
Zach Eaton-Rosen
Research Engineer
What is your favourite part of your job?
Working on important problems
Background in AI
I did a PhD in medical image computing. During this, AI was becoming more and more important.
Key attributes
Collaborative
Logical
Resilient
Self-motivated
Hobbies outside of work
Basketball, board games, and fatherhood
Job description
My work is somewhere between “research” and “software engineering” to help conduct repeatable, high-quality experiments.
Petar Veličković
Staff Research Scientist
What is your favourite part of your job?
The never-ending supply of exciting and challenging problems to solve, as well as the immediate potential to create technologies that reach billions of users on a daily basis.
Background in AI
I came into AI after completing an undergraduate degree in computer science. Programming was my favourite topic. I also had a long-standing interest in biology, so as my final-year undergraduate project, I sought out a project in bioinformatics. After contacting my advisor, he suggested that “nowadays, almost everybody in bioinformatics is doing machine learning; perhaps you should learn it too”. I listened, and this exposed me to the wonderful world of AI.
Key attributes
Communicator
Imaginative
Passionate
Tenacious
Hobbies outside of work
Listening to music, playing video games, and cooking
Job description
My role is a combination of learning, researching, communicating, and advising. I brainstorm with my teammates about how we can use this knowledge to positively impact the world. Researching a result is not nearly as valuable without appropriately communicating it, and empowering others to effectively make use of it.
Piotr Mirowski
Staff Research Scientist
What is your favourite part of your job?
Getting stuck on a problem and finding the solution by brainstorming with very creative colleagues
Background in AI
I got into AI after reading science-fiction novels and writing my own video games.
Key attributes
Collaborative
Creative
Curious
Passionate
Hobbies outside of work
I am a theatre actor and the director of a theatre troupe where humans improvise comedy alongside robots! I also love hiking and travelling.
Job description
I have been working on weather prediction and climate forecasting: I love learning about the physical world and building tools that can help scientists and society.