Integration of Artificial Intelligence – How Businesses Are Adapting

Dr Annabel Latham is a Senior Lecturer, Department of Computing and Mathematics at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is a Senior Member of the IEEE, Chair of IEEE Computational Intelligence Society Education Strategy Planning subcommittee, Past Chair of IEEE UK & Ireland Women in Engineering (2019-2022), and a UK STEM Ambassador.

Annabel’s research includes conversational agents (chatbots), user profiling, adaptive systems, intelligent tutoring systems, big data, agent intelligence and knowledge engineering. Her recent focus is on two key challenges: ethics and public trust in AI and developing AI systems for Education to improve access and support success in personalised learning. Annabel has helped SMEs develop AI products and services through the AI Foundry, Centre for Digital Innovation and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships.

Nader Virk is Reader in Finance at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School. He has been working in HEIs internationally since 2010. His research interests in financial economics focus on factor models in asset pricing, volatility & extreme risk, and corporate governance. His research agenda entails Fintech applications such as P2P lending platforms, AI application in investigating ESG integration in investments and corporate governance. His research work has been funded by the UK and international funding agencies including British Academy, UKRI’s Global Challenges Research Fund; Sveriges Riksbank & Nasdaq Nordic Foundation, Sweden; Hilda and Nissi Foundation, Finland, among others.

He is passionate in developing future researchers focusing on dealing with critical challenges of time through a financial market perspective. He has initiated and is leading AI@Biz industry engagement series with a focus on enhancing academic-industry collaboration, training doctoral and ECRs and engaging public to the discussion around AI utility, disruption, and impact. He is a member of MFT iTAP ops team - screening value-creating digital/AI healthcare solutions.

Dr Virk collaborates with industry on sustainability and AI, and reviews for the British Academy, ESRC, and Horizon Europe funding instruments. He writes for public and industry outlets and has contributed to UK Treasury Committee inquiries on AI in financial services, energy transition, and NetZero targets.

Neil Wilson-Perkin is a Senior Director in the Global Privacy Officer at BNY. Based in Manchester,  Neil leads the privacy governance strategy for AI, embedding scalable controls that enable safe and responsible innovation. With a proven track record in operationalizing privacy at enterprise scale, Neil previously served as Global Data Protection Officer at AstraZeneca throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and held privacy leadership roles at Lloyds Banking Group. A recognized expert in the field, Neil is a Fellow of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP).