University College Dublin (UCD) has launched Ireland’s first university-led Artificial Intelligence (AI) Institute. The UCD AI Institute aims to empower researchers across all disciplines in order to accelerate scientific discovery and influence policy and regulation.
At the heart of the new UCD AI Institute will be an AI Design Studio, where a team of computer science engineers, supported by expertise in ethics and compliance, will work with researchers to adapt existing AI technologies and develop new tools to address major societal challenges.
The model is designed to make advanced AI capability available beyond computer science, enabling researchers in areas ranging from medicine and agriculture to climate, humanities and the social sciences to work alongside AI specialists.
The Institute will build on significant AI-enabled research already under way at UCD, including the use of AI to create digital twins of paediatric cancer patients to support more personalised treatment, and to improve the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia in maternal health.
At the official opening of the new facility, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless, said: “I am delighted to launch the new AI Institute at University College Dublin. This institute represents a truly transformative development, establishing a world-class environment where our talented researchers can turn bold ideas into profound discoveries.”
“When science moves, everything around it moves also, and by supporting independent discovery at the absolute frontiers of data science, this institute will create a vital spillover effect that drives societal progress and helps solve some of our most complex global challenges.”
The new Institute will be led by Professor Robin Burke, a leading global expert in AI research and former Chair and Professor of Information Science at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is considered a pioneer in the areas of personalised recommender systems, algorithmic ethics, fairness and transparency.
“AI has the potential to become a powerful catalyst for human inquiry, but researchers should not have to become AI specialists themselves to realise that potential,” Professor Burke said.
“Our model is about bringing AI expertise directly alongside researchers. A scientist, clinician, agricultural researcher or humanities scholar can bring us a research question and work with experts to explore how AI can help them answer it.
“We also have an important responsibility as an independent academic institution to examine AI critically – its capabilities, its limitations and its impact, and to help ensure its development remains trustworthy, responsible and human-centred,” he said.
Additionally, the Institute will critically evaluate AI’s societal impact, guide technology policy and governance, and drive independent public debate on how AI is used and regulated, both at a national and EU level.
Professor Orla Feely, President of UCD, said: “AI is changing not only what we can discover, but how discovery itself happens. Universities must support our research communities to avail of these new technologies in a responsible way to advance their disciplines.
“The UCD AI Institute will connect expertise that already exists across the University with dedicated AI capability, enabling our researchers to reach further across disciplinary boundaries to tackle questions of importance to society. Through the Institute, our faculty will have access to new insights and approaches that can inform their teaching, so that our graduates stand up and stand out in a rapidly changing world. The Institute will act as an important hub, connecting our external partners with the full range of UCD’s expertise in AI.”
The launch of the UCD AI Institute was announced at the AI in Science Summit (AIS26), which took place on 15-16 October at UCD. AIS26 – an official event of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union – brought together more than 1,000 scientists, industry leaders and policymakers from around the world.
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