PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Javier Del Ser

Also known as Javier Del Ser Lorente

Javier Del Ser is an applied AI researcher at TECNALIA and the University of the Basque Country whose machine learning and optimisation work targets industry, health, transport and energy, with an emphasis on reliable, explainable AI. After a telecommunications doctorate at the University of Navarra in 2006, he joined Robotiker (now part of TECNALIA) in 2008 and completed a second doctorate, in information technologies, at the University of Alcalá in 2013. In 2019, he coauthored a 67-page overview of explainable AI that proposed taxonomies of explanation methods and pointed toward Responsible AI. The Basque Research & Technology Alliance gave him its Best Research Career award in 2023, and Clarivate named him a Highly Cited Researcher in 2025. He is a senior AI researcher at TECNALIA and a distinguished researcher at the University of the Basque Country; he joined ELLIS in 2026, and TECNALIA announced in July 2026 that he will sit on the AI Act Scientific Panel.

Born
1979
Badges

Years link to their sources.

Timeline

  1. 2003–2006

    Telecom engineering and a doctorate

    He earns a senior telecommunications engineering degree at the University of the Basque Country in May 2003. In November 2003, he is awarded one of 32 doctoral fellowships of the Foundation of Technological Centers Iñaki Goenaga to research at the Center for Technical Studies and Research of Gipuzkoa (CEIT), and in 2006 he defends his telecommunications doctoral thesis at the University of Navarra, cum laude.

  2. 2007–2013

    Joining Robotiker, now TECNALIA

    He makes a postdoctoral stay at the University of Delaware from August to December 2007, and is a two-time recipient of the Ministry of Science and Innovation's Torres Quevedo program, in 2007 and 2009. In 2008, he joins the Robotiker Foundation, now part of TECNALIA, as a senior scientific researcher in its TELECOM Unit, specializes in applied AI, and earns a second doctorate in information technologies, cum laude with an Extraordinary Doctoral Award, from the University of Alcalá in 2013.

  3. 2019

    An overview of explainable AI

    He coauthors, with Alejandro Barredo Arrieta, Natalia Díaz-Rodríguez, Francisco Herrera and others, a 67-page overview of explainable AI that goes to arXiv in October 2019 and is accepted by Information Fusion. The paper proposes a definition of explainability centered on its audience, taxonomies for machine learning and deep learning models, and points toward Responsible AI.

  4. 2023

    Best research career award

    In 2023, he receives the Basque Research & Technology Alliance (BRTA) Award for Best Research Career. He has also contributed to the design of the Spanish Government's national R&D&I strategy for artificial intelligence.

  5. 2024

    Stanford's top 2% list

    In 2024, he is included in the Stanford List of the World's Top 2% Most Influential Researchers, recognised for his contributions in 2023 and for his entire research career.

  6. April 2025

    Expert before the Spanish Senate

    In April 2025, he appears as an expert before the Science, Innovation and Universities Committee of the Spanish Senate to discuss the impact of AI on the economy and business. He names four obstacles for AI in companies: safety and robustness, the cost of adoption, scarce specialised talent, and the effect on humanity.

  7. November 2025

    A Highly Cited Researcher

    In November 2025, Clarivate names him one of 6,868 Highly Cited Researchers worldwide, among 119 in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, and he is the only researcher from the Basque Country in that category. His research applies AI and machine learning to modelling and optimisation problems in industry, health, transport, energy and mobility, with an emphasis on reliable, explainable solutions.

  8. As of October 2026

    Senior researcher at TECNALIA

    He is a senior AI researcher at TECNALIA and a distinguished researcher at the University of the Basque Country. TECNALIA announces in June 2026 that he has joined ELLIS, the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems, and in July 2026 that he will sit on the AI Act's Scientific Panel, which advises the European Commission, the AI Office and the AI Board.

Career

  1. Since 2008TecnaliaSenior scientific researcher
  2. NowUniversity of the Basque CountryDistinguished researcher
  3. 2007University of DelawarePostdoctoral researcher

Education

  1. 2013University of AlcaláDoctorate in information technologies
  2. 2006Universidad de NavarraDoctorate in telecommunications
  3. 2003University of the Basque CountrySenior telecommunications engineering degree

From the biography.

  1. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes University of the Basque Country. We estimate where the people shaping AI studied and where their careers led. Massachusetts Institute of Technology leads with 467 former students, including 291 recorded doctorates.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes University of the Basque Country. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  3. Google had the most people shaping AI every year from 2014 to 2025Our estimates of which organizations employed the most people shaping AI each year from 1955 to 2025, tracing the shift from university labs to companies.
  4. The United States employs an estimated 48% of people shaping AIWe estimate where the people shaping AI work today, how universities, companies and research institutes split across countries, and how country shares have changed since the 1960s.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

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  1. Javier Del Ser Lorente - PURE – TECNALIA CRIS scienceportal.tecnalia.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. [1910.10045] Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI): Concepts, Taxonomies, Opportunities and Challenges toward Responsible AI arxiv.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Javier Del Ser is one of the world's most cited scientists | Tecnalia tecnalia.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. Javier Del Ser, TECNALIA's artificial intelligence researcher is one of the most influential researchers | Tecnalia tecnalia.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Cuatro obstáculos que pueden limitar el potencial transformador de la IA - Campusa - EHU ehu.eus. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Javier Del Ser, researcher in Artificial Intelligence at TECNALIA and EHU, among the world's most cited scientists | Parke parke.eus. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. TECNALIA boosts its AI research with Javier Del Ser at ELLIS | Tecnalia tecnalia.com. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. TECNALIA secures representation on two key bodies in relation to the European AI Act | Tecnalia tecnalia.com. Checked 21 October 2026.