Fellowship to deliver world-class Artificial Intelligence research

A Photonics researcher at the University of Strathclyde has received a prestigious fellowship to support his development of ultra-fast Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies for medicine, security and renewable energy. Dr Antonio Hurtado, Senior Lecturer at Strathclyde's Institute of Photonics, is one of 15 recipients of Turing AI Acceleration Fellowships, supported by a £20million government investment and delivered by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to lead innovative and creative AI research with transformative impact. Dr Hurtado aims to develop ultrafast yet energy efficient AI systems using photonic devices which operate through low-energy light signals, such as the semiconductor lasers that can be found in mobile phones and supermarket barcode scanners. Dr Hurtado said: "In today's world, the ability to process vast amounts of data fast and efficiently is crucial in sectors such as energy, healthcare and finance. AI systems are key tools to make sense of huge volumes of data but consume very high levels of energy and increasingly contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions. "Operating in a similar way to the biological neurons that process information in the brain, the new photonic devices will be able to process data at high speeds while reducing energy consumption, helping the UK to meet its net zero carbon ambitions by 2050.