In the context of the UK's ambitions to harness AI for economic growth and to transform public services, the panel explores the incredible potential of AI to benefit our society, and asks how innovation should be responsibly deployed, and how the impact of these technologies across sectors might risk creating or worsening inequalities. How should policymakers respond to this and what might the opportunities be to make AI work for all, more equally, in the future?

Confirmed panellists include:

• Hetan Shah, Chief Executive of the British Academy and the chair of Our World in Data
• Dr Nessa Keddo, Senior Lecturer in Culture, Media and Creative Industries (Global Majority Identities) in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, King’s College London
• Robin Carpenter, Head of AI Governance and Policy at Newton’s Tree
• Professor Elisabeth Kelan, Professor of Leadership and Organisation at King's Business School, King’s College London
• Zephaniah Chukwudum, Director, Local Government at Microsoft.

In-person attendance is limited to invited attendees only due to the venue capacity. Sign up on Eventbrite for access to the livestream.

Speakers

Robin Carpenter is the Head of AI Governance and Policy at Newton’s Tree, where he focuses on developing best practice in evaluation, deployment, and monitoring of healthcare AI. He is also Visiting Lecturer at King’s College London, on the oversight committee of several large health tech conferences, and advises locally and nationally on healthcare AI.

Zephaniah Chukwudum is Director, Local Government at Microsoft. With over a decade in the technology industry, he has a deep passion for inclusion and community and the role that technology and digital skills plays in democratising opportunity and transforming our communities, cities and country.

Dr Nessa Keddo joined King’s in 2023 as a Senior Lecturer in Culture, Media and Creative Industries (Global Majority Identities), and is also the Department’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion lead. She is co-investigator of the AHRC project ‘Transforming the Gap: Inclusive Digital Arts and Humanities Research Skills’. Nessa is a Research Consultant for industry with experience in leading strategic projects for commercial and public sector clients across tech, entertainment, FMCG and policy.

Professor Elisabeth Kelan is a Professor of Leadership and Organisation at King’s Business School. Her research focuses on digitalisation and diversity at work, inclusive leadership and gender in organisations. Her research has been used to engage men as change agents in gender equality, to develop women as leaders and to create generational awareness in the workplace. In addition to her academic publications in journals such as the British Journal of Management, Elisabeth’s research has been featured in the media such as the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Economist. She regularly advises companies and international organisations. Elisabeth is the author of Patterns of Inclusion: How Gender Matters for Automation, Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work (Routledge,2025).

Hetan Shah is chief executive at the British Academy, the UK’s national academy for humanities and social sciences. He is Chair of Our World in Data, which brings together research and data to make progress against the world’s largest problems. Hetan was appointed in 2024 by the UK Parliament to the board of the National Audit Office, the UK’s independent spending watchdog. He is Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute, Kings College London and a Fellow at Birkbeck, University of London. Hetan serves on a number of advisory boards including the Bennett Institute for Public Policy at the University of Cambridge, the UCL Policy Lab and the Resolution Foundation.

Chair: Professor Carmine Ventre has been the Director of the King’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence since the summer of 2023. He is the interim Head of Department in the Department of Informatics at King’s where he is a Professor of Computer Science and Chair in Computational Finance. Carmine’s research interests include algorithmic game theory, microeconomics and the internet, AI for algorithmic trading and finance and cryptography and security. Carmine joined King's in September 2019, to lead the Finance research hub in the Department of Informatics.

King's Festival of Artificial Intelligence

This event is part of the King’s Festival of Artificial Intelligence. Running from Tuesday 20 May to Saturday 24 May, the free, five-day festival brings together a diverse line-up of experts to consider critical questions about artificial intelligence in the context of healthcare, education, sustainability, policy, and creativity.

Festival events will take place across several King’s venues, so please check carefully where the event is taking place. Festival event times may be subject to change. Any changes will be communicated to attendees via Eventbrite emails.

Please note, King's events are free, which means we routinely overbook to allow for no-shows and avoid empty seats. Admission is on a first come, first served basis, so please arrive in good time to avoid disappointment. We will not be able to admit those without tickets or latecomers.