The ELO Oxford Leadership Program is back for summer 2024! We are looking forward to another great week of hearing from expert presenters, exploring the beauty of Oxford, and learning more about calling in the marketplace.

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Nigel Crook, Professor of AI and Robotics & Associate Dean for Research and Knowledge Exchange, Oxford Brookes University, will participate in the ELO Leadership Program as an instructor this year.

Based in Oxford, UK, Nigel Crook is a professor and an associate dean at Oxford Brookes University. He graduated from Lancaster University with a BSc (Hons) in Computing and Philosophy in 1982. He has a PhD in explainable intelligent machines and more than 30 years of experience as a lecturer and a researcher in AI. He recently published a book entitled “Rise of the Moral Machine: Exploring Virtue Through a Robot’s Eyes”. He has been interviewed as an expert in AI and robotics on numerous international, national, and regional media channels including CNBC Squawk Box, BBC Breakfast, BBC World News, and BBC Radio 4. His research interests include biologically inspired machine learning, social robotics, autonomous moral machines, and ethical AI.

Dr. Nigel Crook’s book, Rise of the Moral Machine, describes the emergence of a new technology called 'moral machines' that seeks to equip AI algorithms and robots with the capacity to perceive and respond to the ethical consequences of their choices and actions.

The recent and in some cases, breathtaking advances, in Artificial Intelligence have led to serious ethical concerns over the harm that this technology could cause to individuals, organizations, and society at large. The root cause of these concerns comes from the fact that these decision-making algorithms are morally naïve. They have no concept of right or wrong and no capacity to recognize the potential good or evil that their 'autonomous' decisions and actions might have on the people they interact with.

This book describes the efforts of scientists who seek to rectify this by equipping AI algorithms and robots with the capacity to perceive and respond to the ethical consequences of their choices and actions. Dr. Crook brings a unique perspective on this subject that is informed by a deep understanding of AI technology combined with a long-term amateur interest in the theology of personal moral development.

Interested in attending the program this summer?