About
I build things, then worry professionally about what happens when they get loose. My work spans hands-on machine learning engineering, international standards leadership, government advisory, and books that try to make AI ethics useful rather than decorative.
Beginnings
My father was a rocketry guidance engineer, a true mechanical and electrical boffin who could build or fix almost anything, from a lawnmower to a polarised laser to custom-designed computer circuitry. He was determined to nurture a love of engineering in me, and taught me many of its principles.
My mother served as a Wren in the Women’s Royal Naval Service and later worked in home care. From her I learned that practical competence can itself be a form of care: noticing what people need, taking responsibility, and helping life work a little better.
My father died before I was a teenager, and I have since lost my mother too. I carry both of their legacies with me: his passion for efficient designs and elegant solutions, and her example of service, resourcefulness, and care. Together, they led me towards a career in engineering and doctoral research in the subject. I am currently awaiting my viva.
Areas of focus
Now
01
Chair of IEEE 3152-2024 (Transparent Human and Machine Agency Identification) and IEEE 3173-2026 (Endocrine Disrupting Chemical Hazard Labelling); Vice-Chair of IEEE 7001-2021 (Transparency of Autonomous Systems); Chair of the Transparency Experts Focus Group for IEEE CertifAIEd.
02
The European Responsible AI Office — advising enterprises and governments on responsible AI governance.
03
Supporting grantmaking for AI safety and existential-risk reduction.
04
Founder of EthicsNet, the nonprofit that builds open alignment infrastructure and gives it away, and founder and chair of its applied research and engineering arm, Creed Space, building tools for personalised alignment and constitutional governance of AI systems.
05
Faculty in AI & Robotics and Fellow for Ethics.
06
Select roles bringing independent scrutiny to AI governance, emerging-technology strategy, safety, and responsible innovation.
Belfast
Another of my influences is Thomas Andrews, architect of the Titanic — famously built in my hometown of Belfast, and upon which a distant relative of mine perished.
What captivates me is his interest in lesser-known stakeholders, such as the stokers: he made expensive retrofits so they had plenty of water to wash with on their way back from the boiler rooms, and they threw a party in his honour to say thanks. That humanitarian aspect of engineering stuck with me — along with the ironic tragedy of that voyage, and the gross inequity of who was able to survive it.