AI for Collective Intelligence (AI4CI)
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Bristol
Department Name: Computer Science
Abstract
AI and Machine Learning often address challenges that are relatively monolithic in nature: determine the safest route for an autonomous car; translate a document from English to French; analyse a medical image to detect a cancer; answer questions about a difficult topic. These kinds of challenge are very important and worthwhile targets for AI research.
However, an alternative set of challenges exist that are more *collective* in nature and that unfold in *real time*:
- help minimise the impact of a pandemic sweeping through a population of people by informing the coordination of local and national testing, social distancing and vaccination interventions;
- predict and then monitor the extent and severity of an extreme weather event using multiple real-time physical and social data streams;
- anticipate and prevent a stock market crash caused by the interactions between many automated trading agents each following its own trading algorithm;
- derive city-wide patterns of changing mobility from high-frequency time series data and use these patterns to drive city planning decisions that maximise liveability and sustainability in the future city;
- assist populations of people with type 2 diabetes to avoid acute episodes and hospitalisation by identifying patterns in their pooled disease trajectories while preserving their privacy and anonymity.
Developing AI systems for these types of problem presents unique challenges: extracting reliable and informative patterns from multiple overlapping and interacting data streams; identifying and controlling for inherent biases within the data; determining the local interventions that can allow smart agents to influence collective systems in a positive way; developing privacy preserving machine learning and advancing ethical best practices for collective AI; embedding novel machine learning and AI in portals, devices and tools that can be used transparently and successfully by different types of user.
The AI for Collective Intelligence (AI4CI) Hub will address these challenges for AI in the context of critically important real world use cases (cities, pandemics, health care, environment and finance) working with key stakeholder partners from each sector.
In addition to significantly advancing applied AI research for collective intelligence, the AI4CI Hub will also work to build *community* in this research area, linking together academic research groups across the UK with each other and with key industry, government and public sector organisations, and to build *capability* by developing and releasing open access training materials, tools, demonstrator systems and best practice guidance, and by supporting the career development of early and mid-career researchers both within academia and beyond.
The AI for Collective Intelligence Hub will be a centre of gravity for a nation-wide research effort applying new AI to collective systems.
However, an alternative set of challenges exist that are more *collective* in nature and that unfold in *real time*:
- help minimise the impact of a pandemic sweeping through a population of people by informing the coordination of local and national testing, social distancing and vaccination interventions;
- predict and then monitor the extent and severity of an extreme weather event using multiple real-time physical and social data streams;
- anticipate and prevent a stock market crash caused by the interactions between many automated trading agents each following its own trading algorithm;
- derive city-wide patterns of changing mobility from high-frequency time series data and use these patterns to drive city planning decisions that maximise liveability and sustainability in the future city;
- assist populations of people with type 2 diabetes to avoid acute episodes and hospitalisation by identifying patterns in their pooled disease trajectories while preserving their privacy and anonymity.
Developing AI systems for these types of problem presents unique challenges: extracting reliable and informative patterns from multiple overlapping and interacting data streams; identifying and controlling for inherent biases within the data; determining the local interventions that can allow smart agents to influence collective systems in a positive way; developing privacy preserving machine learning and advancing ethical best practices for collective AI; embedding novel machine learning and AI in portals, devices and tools that can be used transparently and successfully by different types of user.
The AI for Collective Intelligence (AI4CI) Hub will address these challenges for AI in the context of critically important real world use cases (cities, pandemics, health care, environment and finance) working with key stakeholder partners from each sector.
In addition to significantly advancing applied AI research for collective intelligence, the AI4CI Hub will also work to build *community* in this research area, linking together academic research groups across the UK with each other and with key industry, government and public sector organisations, and to build *capability* by developing and releasing open access training materials, tools, demonstrator systems and best practice guidance, and by supporting the career development of early and mid-career researchers both within academia and beyond.
The AI for Collective Intelligence Hub will be a centre of gravity for a nation-wide research effort applying new AI to collective systems.
Organisations
- University of Bristol (Lead Research Organisation)
- OFFICE FOR NATIONAL STATISTICS (Project Partner)
- University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (Project Partner)
- Mayden (Project Partner)
- Climate Action Against Disinformation (Project Partner)
- Arup (Project Partner)
- Glasgow City Council (Project Partner)
- Timecentres UK Ltd (Project Partner)
- NayaOne (Project Partner)
- Stratiphy (Project Partner)
- University of Cambridge (Project Partner)
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory (Project Partner)
- FinTech North (Project Partner)
- Westminster City Council (Project Partner)
- Somerset NHS Foundation Trust (Project Partner)
- Methods Analytics Ltd (Project Partner)
- CARDIFF CAPITAL REGION (Project Partner)
- Advice Robo (Project Partner)
- Digital Poverty Alliance (Project Partner)
- DeepSearch Labs (Project Partner)
- MET OFFICE (Project Partner)
- Cabinet Office (Project Partner)
- WhiteCap Consulting Ltd (Project Partner)
- Royal Statistical Society (Project Partner)
- NESTA (Project Partner)
- Wikimedia UK (Project Partner)
- Royal Town Planning Institute (Project Partner)
- Natural Resources (Wales) Limited (Project Partner)
- Deep Blue Srl (Project Partner)
- UK Health Security Agency (Project Partner)
- CRAFT (Project Partner)
- Admiral Group Plc (Project Partner)
- Dept Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (Project Partner)
- FinTech West (Project Partner)
- SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT (Project Partner)
- Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust (Project Partner)
- Roche (UK) (Project Partner)
- SIMBA Chain (UK) (Project Partner)
- Propellant (Project Partner)
- The Flowminder Foundation (Project Partner)
Publications
Bullock S
(2024)
Alife for AI for Collective Intelligence
Bullock S
(2024)
Modeling language contact with the Iterated Learning Model
Bullock S
(2024)
Artificial intelligence for collective intelligence: a national-scale research strategy
in The Knowledge Engineering Review
Challen R
(2024)
Combined multiplex panel test results are a poor estimate of disease prevalence without adjustment for test error.
in PLoS computational biology
Clegg L
(2024)
Not feeling the buzz: Correction study of mispricing and inefficiency in online sportsbooks
in International Journal of Forecasting
Gamal Y
(2025)
An analysis of spatial and temporal uncertainty propagation in agent-based models.
in Philosophical transactions. Series A, Mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences
Riedl C
(2025)
The potential and challenges of AI for collective intelligence
in Collective Intelligence
Shi Z
(2024)
Neural stochastic agent-based limit order book simulation with neural point process and diffusion probabilistic model
in Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management
| Title | ai4ci/interfacer: CRAN candidate 0.3.3 |
| Description | Full Changelog: https://github.com/ai4ci/interfacer/compare/0.0.1...0.3.3 |
| Type Of Technology | Software |
| Year Produced | 2025 |
| Open Source License? | Yes |
| Impact | Interfacer is primarily aimed at R package developers. It provides a framework for specifying the structure of dataframes as parameters for user functions and checking that user supplied dataframes conform to expectations. Missing columns or incorrectly typed columns can be identified and useful error messages returned. Specifying structure is part of the function definition and can be automatically included in roxygen2 documentation. |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.14794614 |
| Description | AI for Health & Social Care Collectives workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This workshop brought together medics, health and social care professionals, and researchers to meet and discuss how AI can be used to help patient populations better manage their health conditions and achieve better care outcomes. Connections were made with a view to future collaboration and potential ECR training opportunities were identified. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Collective Intelligence for Positive Tipping Points Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A one-day workshop to bring together academic research communities in the AI4CI Hub and in the Environmental Tipping Points. This was an initial "show and tell" event aimed at building awareness and grassroots interaction. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Complex Systems & Collective Intelligence (satellite event for the 2024 Conference on Complex Systems - CCS'24) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In September, we hosted a well-attended workshop in Exeter as part of the 2024 Conference on Complex Systems. The event brought together researchers, academics, and practitioners working in complex systems and collective intelligence, alongside those keen to learn more about the field. The programme featured research talks, discussion sessions, and keynote addresses from Professor Susan Banducci (University of Exeter) and Dr. Aleks Berditchevskaia (Nesta). Attendees explored how complexity science can enhance collective intelligence in real-world domains such as healthcare, finance, and smart cities. The workshop also introduced AI4CI, the UK's National AI Research Hub, and its future funding opportunities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://ai4ci.ac.uk/event/complex-systems-and-collective-intelligence/ |
| Description | ENFIELD Webinar 2024 Exploring AI Technologies from Ethics to Trust |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The webinar was organized in the framework of the Horizon Project ENFIELD - European Lighthouse to Manifest Trustworthy and Green AI. We delved into the critical landscape of AI ethics and trust. As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in our lives, it raises complex ethical questions and challenges related to transparency, accountability, and fairness. This session explored key ethical principles of using AI, responsible AI development, transparent AI and different aspects of users' trust in systems based on AI. We considered the evolving role of AI ethics as technology advances and understand how research and public perception shape the future of AI. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://aimas.cs.pub.ro/enfieldwebinar/ |
| Description | FinTech West Annual Conference 2024 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | An invited presentation at the FinTech West Annual Conference 2024, a key gathering for the UK's financial technology sector. The event brought together industry leaders, policymakers, and researchers to discuss the latest innovations and challenges in fintech. The presentation introduced the AI4CI Hub and its research on AI for Collective Intelligence, highlighting its relevance to financial services. The talk also explored opportunities for engagement between the fintech community and AI researchers, fostering potential collaborations to drive innovation in the sector. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.fintechwest.co.uk/news/conference24 |
| Description | Future of Seasonal Pressures |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | In collaboration with the Cabinet Office, we brought together researchers, policy makers, healthcare professionals, health service management professional to explore the future impacts of demographic change and climate on healthcare demands, especially during winter periods. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://idmodelling.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/future-of-seasonal-pressures-workshop/ |
| Description | GIS vs The City Council - Data Analytics, Collective Intelligence and Policy Dust-ups |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Invited seminar presentation on the use of data and analytics, supported by AI methods, to support a community collective intelligence in Brighton and Hove, challenging damaging council plans around secondary schools |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Institute for Digital Security & Behaviour launch event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 150 guests attended the launch of the Bath Institute for Digital Security & Behaviour, in the Bath Guildhall. The keynote speaker was Government Chief Scientific Advisor, Professor Dame Angela McLean, who mentioned the importance of AI and human centered design. The event was also attended by DSIT CSA Chris Johnson, and academics, industry professionals, and UKRI staff. There was coverage on social media, with LinkedIn posts getting a large number of impressions. There have been multiple follow-up conversations with potential research stakeholders. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.bath.ac.uk/announcements/institute-for-digital-security-and-behaviour-launched-by-govern... |
| Description | Interactive AI CDT Spring Research Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Invited presentation at the Interactive AI CDT Spring Research Conference, introducing the Hub's mission, research focus, and opportunities for collaboration. This event, hosted by the Centre for Doctoral Training in Interactive AI at the University of Bristol, brought together researchers, industry partners, and students to discuss advancements in AI. The presentation highlighted the Hub's role in fostering interdisciplinary research on AI for Collective Intelligence, supporting emerging researchers, and facilitating partnerships across academia, industry, and government. The talk also provided insights into future funding opportunities and ways for attendees to engage with the Hub's work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://interactiveai.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/2024/04/24/spring-research-conference-day-1-professor-seth... |
| Description | Keynote in Glasgow at Transforming Urban Living with AI and Digital Twins |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | An invited keynote at the annual Turing Urban Analytics meeting, hosted by The Alan Turing Institute and the Urban Big Data Centre at the University of Glasgow. The event, themed Transforming Urban Living with AI and Digital Twins, explored how AI and data science can support sustainable urban planning and reduce health inequalities. The talk highlighted the potential of AI-driven urban digital twins to enhance social inclusion by improving access to healthcare, green spaces, education, and transportation. The event also provided valuable networking opportunities, particularly for early career researchers, fostering future collaborations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.turing.ac.uk/events/transforming-urban-living-ai-and-digital-twins |
| Description | PSG Brighton Secondary Schools Data Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Took part in a public presentation around the data and analysis underpinning the ongoing community challenge to Brighton and Hove City council's secondary school admissions plans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://youtu.be/QThAVNQ-22g?si=7OQccEK2pNe6UyAM |
| Description | Public Talk (Canberra, Australia): How to prevent an AI and robot apocalypse: Designing and deploying AI, robots and other autonomous systems responsibly, safely, securely and ethically |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Event organised by the Collaborative Robotics Lab at the University of Canberra and the ACM SIGCHI Chapter for Canberra. The University of Canberra Visiting Distinguished Fellow Scheme part-funded Professor Phil Morgan's visit. It was a public talk about how to ethically and responsibly design, develop and test AI systems and agents with a human-centric approach in mind at all stages. Following the Keynote, Prof Morgan engaged in an onstage conversation with Bill Shorten (VC and President of The University of Canberra, former Leader of the Australian Labour Part (ALP)) and then an all audience Q&A. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.canberra.edu.au/events/Home/Event/463242 |
| Description | Smart agents for complex environmental data |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Seminar on AI for CI hub research activities to LEEP Institute within University of Exeter |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Social Tipping: the Role of AI and Digital Technologies & AI & Collective Intelligence for Positive Tipping Points |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Research focus session and action-oriented workshop session at Global Tipping Points conference. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://global-tipping-points.org/conference-2025/programme/ |
| Description | Technology Convergence strategy meeting (National Technology Advisor) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | The Hub Director was invited to a meeting with the National Technology Advisor to discuss technology convergence and its potential to deliver strategic benefits for the UK. The meeting, part of a broader initiative aligned with the UK's Science and Technology Framework, explored opportunities at the intersection of critical technologies, including AI, Engineering Biology, Future Telecoms, Quantum, and Semiconductors. By bringing together experts for open discussion, the workshop aimed to generate fresh insights into where innovation might emerge and how the UK could achieve a strategic advantage through targeted R&D investment. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| Description | Telegraph Article - The radical Labour council waging class warfare on the south coast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed for and quoted in Telegraph Article on Brighton and Hove Schools Secondary admissions plans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/jobs/schools-universities/radical-labour-council-class-warfare-sou... |
| Description | Third Annual FinTech Talent Showcase |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
| Results and Impact | The Third Annual FinTech Talent Showcase, an event hosted by FinTech West, highlights emerging talent and innovation in the financial technology sector. The showcase brought together industry professionals, startups, and researchers to explore advancements in AI, data science, and fintech applications. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
| URL | https://www.fintechwest.co.uk/news/the-third-annual-fintech-talent-showcase |
| Description | Times Article - Brighton school admissions shake up 'a war on middle-class families' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed for and quoted in Times Article on Brighton and Hove Schools Secondary admissions plans. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://www.thetimes.com/article/c95e9537-da81-49e9-86df-4a626af93bc4 |
| Description | UK Epidemic Analytics and Modelling Event |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Organised by the HPRU in Modelling and Analytics, this event brought together infectious disease modellers and analysts from across the country to assess modelling capacity in the UK. It also focused identifying challenges and proposals for next steps for increasing and targetting capacity. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| Description | Understanding Smart Home Technology Acceptance in Social Housing Workshop: Sociotechnical Enablers & Barriers to Trust (and Related Factors) in AI, Automation, Cyber Security & Robotics |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Keynote presentation at the event - main audience e.g. senior staff from housing associations, charitable organisations, academics and policy makers. All day workshop with the Keynote, other talks and design activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |
| URL | https://pure.southwales.ac.uk/en/activities/understanding-smart-technology-acceptance-in-social-hous... |
| Description | Webinar on "Scalable climate services with collective intelligence" |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A seminar to the Met Office talking about use of AI to scale up delivery of climate services |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2025 |