UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training: Safe and Trusted AI

Entry requirements

Applicants will normally be expected to have a distinction at MSc level (or equivalent) in computer science or related discipline. However, in exceptional cases we may consider other qualifications (including at undergraduate level) and all applications will be considered on their merit as appropriate to the individual case. Applications from individuals with non-standard backgrounds (e.g. those from industry or returning from a career break) are encouraged, as are applications from women, disabled and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates, who are currently under-represented in the sector. All applicants will need to demonstrate enthusiasm and aptitude for the programme.

It is not necessary that an applicant has completed their current course of study before applying. If an applicant has not completed their current course of study, any offer may be conditional on the eventual degree classification.

Months of entry

September

Course content

The UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) in Safe and Trusted Artificial Intelligence (STAI) brings together world leading experts from King’s College London and Imperial College London to train a new generation of researchers in safe and trusted artificial intelligence (AI).

The STAI CDT offers a unique four-year programme, focussed on the use of model-based AI techniques for ensuring the safety and trustworthiness of AI systems. Students will engage in various training activities, alongside their individual PhD project, ensuring that not only are they trained in state-of-the-art AI techniques, but also that they acquire a deep understanding of ethical, societal, and legal implications of AI in a research and industrial setting. Through engagement with the CDT’s diverse range of industrial partners, students will be exposed to the different experiences, challenges, and technical problems involved in both startups and large corporations.

The CDT leadership team is committed to providing an inclusive environment in which diverse students can thrive. Diversity is crucial for enabling world leading research, impact and teaching, and an inclusive environment is vital to allow people to contribute their best.

What is Safe & Trusted AI?

AI technologies are increasingly ubiquitous in modern society, with the potential to fundamentally change all aspects of our lives. While there is great interest in deploying AI in existing and new applications, serious concerns remain about the safety and trustworthiness of current AI technologies. These concerns are well-founded: there is now ample evidence in several application domains (autonomous vehicles, image recognition, etc.) that AI systems may currently be unsafe because of the lack of assurance over their behaviour. Even in areas where AI methods function to high standards of correctness, there remain challenges. AI decisions are often not explained to users, do not always appear to adhere to social norms and conventions, can be distorted by bias in their data or algorithms and, at times, cannot even be understood by their engineers. An AI system is considered to be safe when we can provide some assurance about the correctness of its behaviour, and it is considered to be trusted if the average user can have confidence in the system and its decision making.