Alan Winfield Explained

Alan Winfield
Birth Place:Burton upon Trent, UK
Alma Mater:University of Hull
Doctoral Advisor:Dr Rodney Goodman
Thesis Title:Maximum-Likelihood Sequential Decoding of Convolutional Error-Correcting Codes
Thesis Year:1984
Website:https://people.uwe.ac.uk/Person/AlanWinfield

Alan Winfield (born 1956) is a British engineer and educator.[1] He is Professor of Robot Ethics at UWE Bristol,[2] Honorary Professor at the University of York,[3] and Associate Fellow in the Cambridge Centre for the Future of Intelligence.[4] He chairs the advisory board of the Responsible Technology Institute, University of Oxford.[5]

Winfield is known for research in swarm robotics,[6] [7] [8] [9] robots modelling cultural evolution,[10] [11] [12] and self-modelling (including ethical) robots.[13] [14] [15] He is also known for advocacy and standards development in robot and AI ethics,[16] [17] [18] and for proposing that all robots should be equipped with the equivalent of a flight data recorder.[19]

Early life and education

Winfield was born in Burton upon Trent where he attended Burton Grammar School.[20] He studied electronic engineering for both BSc and PhD, majoring in telecommunications, at the University of Hull from 1974 to 1984. Following his first degree he won an SERC scholarship for doctoral study in the field of information theory and error-correcting codes under the supervision of Rodney Goodman.[21]

Career

Winfield's first faculty appointment was as lecturer in the department of electronic engineering at the University of Hull, from 1981 to 1984. During this period he wrote a guide to the programming language Forth, The Complete Forth, Wiley, 1983.[22] Winfield also invented an architecture for executing native Forth at machine level.[23]

In 1984 Winfield resigned his lectureship and founded, with Rod Goodman, Metaforth Computer Systems Ltd, with the aim of commercializing the Forth machine.[24] [25]

In 1992 Winfield was appointed Hewlett-Packard Professor of Electronic Engineering and Associate Dean (Research) at UWE, Bristol,[26] where he co-founded the Bristol Robotics Laboratory. From 2009 to 2016 he was director of UWE's Science Communication Unit.[27]

Winfield is a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Artificial Intelligence,[28] and the Journal of AI and Ethics.[29] He is also an associate editor of Frontiers Robotics and AI.[30]

Public engagement

From 2006 to 2009, with Noel Sharkey, Owen Holland and Frank Burnet,[31] Winfield led public engagement project Walking with Robots.[32] The project was designed to encourage children into science and technology careers, and to involve the public in discussions about robotics research issues.[33] In 2010 Walking with Robots was awarded the Royal Academy of Engineering Rooke Medal for public promotion of engineering.[34]

In 2009 Winfield won an EPSRC Senior Media Fellowship to support and develop his engagement with the press and media.[35] During the fellowship Winfield wrote popular science book Robotics: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, 2012.[36]

Winfield has given public lectures and panel debates including: British Academy debate 'Does AI pose a threat to society?' with Maja Pantic, Samantha Payne and Christian List chaired by Claire Craig,[37] lectures and Q&A with Raja Chatila at the Royal Institution,[38] [39] talks and Q&A with Ron Arkin at 'Smarter Together': Why AI Needs Human-Choice? in Seoul,[40] the CaSE Annual Lecture with Jim Al-Khalili and Wendy Hall, Institute of Physics,[41] and the keynote lecture for the 15th Appleton Space Conference at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.[42]

In February 2017 Winfield was a guest of Jim Al-Khalili on BBC Radio 4's The Life Scientific,[43] and in October 2017 he was interviewed by Stephen Sackur for BBC TV HARDtalk.[44] [45]

Robot and AI Ethics

In 2010 Winfield was a part of a cross-disciplinary group that drafted the EPSRC/AHRC Principles of Robotics.[46] [47] Inspired by Asimov's Laws of robotics, the principles take the position that "robots are simply tools, for which humans must take responsibility".[48] In 2012 Winfield joined the British Standards Institute working group on robot ethics[49] which drafted BS 8611:2016 Robots and robotic devices: Guide to the ethical design and application of robots and robotic systems.[50]

From 2015 to 2018 Winfield was a member of the Ethics Advisory Board of the EU Human Brain Project.[51] Between 2016 and 2018 he served as a member of the World Economic Forum Global Futures Council on Technology Values and Policy.[52] Winfield has given evidence to both Commons and Lords select committee inquiries on Artificial Intelligence in the UK parliament.[53] [54] He served as an expert advisor to the NHS Health Education England Topol Review Preparing the healthcare workforce to deliver the digital future.[55]

In 2016 Winfield joined the IEEE Global Initiative on ethics of Intelligence and Autonomous Systems. As chair of the General Principles group[56] he helped to draft Ethically Aligned Design.[57] He is a member of the initiative's executive committee,[58] and chaired the working group that drafted IEEE Standard 7001-2021 on Transparency of Autonomous Systems.[59] Winfield received an IEEE Special Recognition Award in 2021.[60]

His work has been reported by the BBC,[11] New Scientist, The Guardian,[19] The Telegraph,[61] Nature,[62] and Scientific American.

Selected publications

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Alan Winfield interviewed by Peter Asaro for the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Robotics History project . 9 May 2023 . ieee-ras.org.
  2. Web site: Professor Alan Winfield . 9 May 2023 . uwe.ac.uk.
  3. Web site: School of Physics, Engineering and Technology . 24 May 2023 . york.ac.uk.
  4. Web site: Alan Winfield Associate Fellow . 9 May 2023 . lcfi.ac.uk.
  5. Web site: Responsible Technology Institute Advisory Board . 3 August 2023 . ox.ac.uk.
  6. News: Robots with a mind of their own. ITV News. 13 March 2008. 8 July 2023.
  7. News: Material World. BBC Radio 4. 8 May 2008. 8 July 2023.
  8. Hive hopes. The Engineer. 16 June 2008. 8 July 2023.
  9. Web site: 30 November 2011 . In Interview: Alan Winfield . 8 July 2023 . sciencemuseum.org.uk . Science Museum.
  10. News: Will Big Brother be cultural watershed for robots?. Times Higher Education. 27 April 2007. 8 July 2023.
  11. News: Dancing robots reveal cultural cues. Mark Ward. BBC News. 8 June 2012. 1 June 2023.
  12. Web site: Robots Show Us Who We Are. Brian Gallagher. 23 March 2022. Nautilus. 1 June 2023.
  13. Web site: Ethical trap: robot paralysed by choice of who to save. Aviva Rutkin. 10 September 2014. New Scientist. 9 June 2023.
  14. News: Un robot face à un dilemme. Soline Roy. 14 November 2014. Le Figaro. French. 9 July 2023.
  15. Web site: How to Make a Robot Use Theory of Mind. Chris Baraniuk. 17 August 2018 . Scientific American. 2 June 2023.
  16. Web site: Ethical Robots and Robot Ethics. Tessel Renzenbrink. Elektor. 22 January 2016. 1 June 2023.
  17. Web site: Does AI pose a threat to society?. Sameer Rahim. Prospect Magazine. 20 March 2017. 8 July 2023.
  18. News: Is the AI apocalypse actually coming? What life could look like if robots take over. Katie Strick. London Evening Standard. 31 May 2023. 8 July 2023.
  19. News: Give robots an 'ethical black box' to track and explain decisions, say scientists. Ian Sample. 19 July 2017 . The Guardian. 2 June 2023.
  20. Web site: Burton Grammar School Old Boys' Association . 9 May 2023 . burtongrammar.co.uk.
  21. Web site: Rodney M. Goodman Curriculum Vitae . 9 May 2023 . rod.goodman.name.
  22. Book: The Complete Forth . Alan Winfield. Wiley. 1983. 9780471882350 . 9 May 2023.
  23. Web site: United States Patent no 4,974,157, Data Processing System . 9 May 2023.
  24. Web site: APD Communications Ltd . 11 May 2023 . company-information.service.gov.uk.
  25. Byte UK: Multitasking Forth. Dick Pountain. McGraw-Hill. Byte . March 1985 . 363–371. 12 May 2023.
  26. Web site: 19 January 2004 . Alan FT Winfield . https://web.archive.org/web/20050412231839/https://ias.uwe.ac.uk/People%20Pages/a-winfie2/AFT_Winfield.html . 12 April 2005 . 19 July 2023 . live .
  27. Web site: Science Communication Unit members . https://web.archive.org/web/20160422172258/http://www1.uwe.ac.uk/research/sciencecommunicationunit/staffandstudents.aspx . 22 April 2016 . 12 May 2023 . uwe.ac.uk . live .
  28. Web site: JETAI Editorial Board . 13 July 2023 . tandfonline.com.
  29. Web site: AI and Ethics Editors . 13 July 2023 . springer.com.
  30. Web site: Frontiers Learning and Evolution Editors . 13 July 2023 . frontiersin.org.
  31. Web site: Frank Burnet . 31 May 2023 . linkedin.com.
  32. Web site: EPSRC Grants on the web . 31 May 2023 . epsrc.ukri.org.
  33. Christine Evans-Pughe. Masters of their fate?. Engineering and Technology. 4 April 2007 . 31 May 2023.
  34. Web site: RAEng Rooke Medal previous winners . 31 May 2023 . raeng.org.uk.
  35. Web site: EPSRC Grants on the Web . 3 June 2023 . epsrc.ukri.org.
  36. Book: Alan Winfield. Robotics: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. 27 September 2012. 10.1093/actrade/9780199695980.001.0001 . 978-0-19-969598-0 . 3 June 2023.
  37. Web site: 1 March 2017 . Does AI pose a threat to society? . 19 July 2023 . thebritishacademy.ac.uk.
  38. Web site: Robot Ethics in the 21st Century. . 22 June 2017. 18 June 2023.
  39. Web site: Q&A Robot Ethics in the 21st Century. . 22 June 2017. 18 June 2023.
  40. Web site: 14 August 2018 . Robot Ethics: from principles to policy . 18 July 2023 . sisain.co.kr.
  41. Web site: 20 December 2018 . CaSE Annual Lecture 2018: 'Making Artificial Intelligence A Reality' . 18 June 2023 . sciencecampaign.org.uk.
  42. Web site: 5 December 2019 . 15th Appleton Space Conference . 18 June 2023 . ralspace.stfc.ac.uk.
  43. Web site: 21 February 2017 . The Life Scientific . 31 May 2023 . bbc.co.uk.
  44. News: Winfield HARDtalk clip 'We need to worry about artificial stupidity'. BBC News. 31 October 2017. 31 May 2023.
  45. Web site: 31 October 2017 . HARDtalk full interview Alan Winfield . 3 June 2023 . youtube.com .
  46. Web site: Principles of robotics . 9 June 2023 . nationalarchives.gov.uk.
  47. Five roboethical principles – for humans. Alan Winfield. New Scientist. 4 May 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20160413110937/https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028111-100-five-roboethical-principles-for-humans/ . 9 June 2023. 13 April 2016 .
  48. Web site: Beyond Asimov: how to plan for ethical robots. Benjamin Kuipers. The Conversation. 2 June 2016. 9 June 2023.
  49. Web site: AMT/10/1 – Ethics for Robots and Autonomous Systems . 11 July 2023 . bsigroup.com . BSI.
  50. News: Hannah Devlin. 18 September 2016. Do no harm, don't discriminate: official guidance issued on robot ethics. The Guardian. 11 July 2023.
  51. Web site: The Ethics Advisory Board (EAB) . https://web.archive.org/web/20190202042648/https://www.humanbrainproject.eu/en/open-ethical-engaged/ethics/ethics-advisory-board/ . 2 February 2019 . 19 July 2023 . humanbrainproject.eu . live .
  52. Web site: Network of Global Future Councils 2016–2018 . 5 June 2023 . weforum.org.
  53. Web site: February 2016 . Written evidence submitted by Professor Alan Winfield (ROB0070) . 5 June 2023 . parliament.uk.
  54. Web site: October 2017 . Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence: oral evidence . 5 June 2023 . parliament.uk.
  55. Web site: February 2019 . Preparing the healthcare workforce to deliver the digital future . 5 June 2023 . hee.nhs.uk.
  56. Web site: IEEE EAD First Edition Committees List . 31 May 2023 . IEEE.
  57. Web site: Ethically Aligned Design. 31 May 2023.
  58. Web site: The IEEE Global Initiative on Ethics of Autonomous and Intelligent Systems . 31 May 2023 . IEEE.
  59. Web site: 4 March 2022 . IEEE Standard 7001-2021 Transparency of Autonomous Systems . 31 May 2023 . IEEE.
  60. Web site: 2021 IEEE SA Awards – IEEE SA Managing Director's Special Recognition Award Given to Alan Winfield. . 13 July 2023.
  61. News: The British engineers creating robots that 'breed' . Ellie Zolfagharifard. The Telegraph. 14 March 2021. 1 June 2023.
  62. Machine ethics: The robot's dilemma. Boer Deng. 1 July 2015. Nature. 523 . 7558 . 24–26 . 10.1038/523024a . 26135432 . 2015Natur.523...24D . 4459500 . free .

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