
Designing AI for humanity: Why disciplines must clash
What if we asked an AI to cure cancer and it eliminated cancer by eliminating humans? This thought experiment, though extreme, is often used to highlight the risks of misaligned AI system...
I am an interdisciplinary scientist with a focus on science in policy and industry, and forensic science. I am Co-Director of the UCL Arista Institute, a collaboration between the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. We address persistent, complex, dynamic challenges using creative interdisciplinary thinking. We make connections across disciplines and with industry, government, and the third sector. We find unconventional intersections and reimagine environmentally and economically sustainable solutions.
I am Professor of Crime and Forensic Science at University College London (UCL) and the founder and director of the UCL Centre for the Forensic Sciences, the only interdisciplinary research unit in the world to be solely dedicated to undertaking the experimental research needed to address the most significant challenge in forensic science: the interpretation of forensic science evidence. Our research has won awards from the UK, American, and Australia & New Zealand Forensic Science Societies.
I have served as Vice Dean in the University College London (UCL) Faculty of Engineering Sciences, and as the Specialist Adviser to the UK House of Lords Science and Technology Committee during their inquiry into forensic science.
I am passionate about pioneering excellent creative science that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries to address real world challenges, and to integrate science into society to serve the justice system and the public good. I am committed to collaborating in my research with a broad range of stakeholders to ensure we address real world questions to inform policy and best practice to create change, and to be part of creating a more inclusive and equitable future.
What if we asked an AI to cure cancer and it eliminated cancer by eliminating humans? This thought experiment, though extreme, is often used to highlight the risks of misaligned AI system...
Creativity is critical to the future of work. The Future of Jobs Report 2023 ranked analytical thinking and creative thinking as the first and second most important skills that workers wi...
In 2015, the United Nations identified 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030. Since then, the SDGs have been woven into research programs, national and internatio...
On the 2 March 2022, Oksana Drehval and many of her colleagues from Oles Honchar Dnipro National University sent out a defiant call for help to scientists around the world. Like thousands...
What if we could be ready for a crisis before it strikes — and even prevent it?
The pandemic has taught us the importance of scientific collaboration. When the first reports of severe respiratory disease broke late in 2019, the international research community came t...
Seven months after the first reported cases of COVID-19, the pandemic has disrupted every aspect of life, leaving many shuttered and disordered, having to find new ways to communicate, wo...
Imagine you’re in court, accused of a crime that you know you didn’t commit. Now imagine a scientist takes the stand and starts explaining to the court how your DNA is on the murder weapon.


