PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Mark Daley

Mark Daley is a researcher whose work connects neural networks, AI safety, and university AI leadership. He earned a BSc and PhD at Western, joined its faculty in 2004, and completed a neuroscience master's degree in 2012. He held research leadership roles at Western and CIFAR, and coauthored a 2022 paper that used fruit fly connectome data to improve echo-state networks. Western appointed him Chief Digital Information Officer in 2022 and Chief AI Officer in 2023; in 2024, he joined NSERC as Scholar in Residence in AI through 2026. As of October 2026, he is Western's Chief AI Officer; in May 2026, he served as vice-chair of the Council of Ontario Universities AI Task Force.

Badges

Timeline

  1. 1999–2003

    Degrees at Western

    He earns a BSc at Western in 1999 and completes a PhD there in 2003.

  2. 2004

    Professor at Western

    He becomes a professor at Western in 2004.

  3. 2012

    A neuroscience master's

    During a sabbatical in 2012, he completes a master's degree in neuroscience to better understand the biological aspects of intelligence and learning.

  4. 2015–2019

    Associate vice-president at Western

    From 2015 to 2019, he serves as Western's Associate Vice-President (Research).

  5. 2020–2022

    Research at CIFAR

    From 2020 to 2022, he serves as CIFAR's Vice-President (Research), where he helps shape Canada's national AI strategy.

  6. 2022

    Connectomes and echo-state networks

    In 2022, he coauthors a paper on using fruit fly connectome data to improve echo-state networks across three chaotic time-series prediction tasks.

  7. 2022–2026

    Digital and AI leadership

    In September 2022, he becomes Western's Chief Digital Information Officer. In October 2023, Western names him its first Chief AI Officer for a five-year term. In 2024, NSERC appoints him Scholar in Residence in AI through 2026.

  8. As of October 2026

    COU AI Task Force vice-chair

    As of October 2026, he is Western's Chief AI Officer and a professor in the Department of Computer Science. His work includes computational neuroscience, neural networks, AI safety, machine learning, and computation. In May 2026, he serves as vice-chair of the Council of Ontario Universities AI Task Force, which publishes recommendations on preparing students for an AI-enabled world.

Career

  1. Since 2004Western UniversityProfessor, Associate Vice-President (Research)
  2. 2026Council of Ontario UniversitiesVice-chair
  3. 2024–2026Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of CanadaScholar in Residence in AI
  4. 2020–2022CIFARVice-President (Research)

Education

  1. 2003Western UniversityBSc and PhD

From the biography.

  1. More people shaping AI studied at Massachusetts Institute of Technology than at any other institutionIncludes Western University. 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 Western University. 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. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes Western University. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  4. Companies supply the most prior-work hires at 7 of the 9 frontier AI labsIncludes CIFAR. Our estimates of the organizations where 550 people worked directly before joining 9 frontier AI labs across 620 career transitions, comparing the main feeder organizations per lab.

Colleagues

People with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of Mark Daley yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Mark Daley - Western Alumni Magazine magazine.westernu.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. Mark Daley gairdner.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. Mark Daley | Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada nserc-crsng.canada.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. [2206.02094] Using Connectome Features to Constrain Echo State Networks arxiv.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. Mark Daley, Chief AI Officer - Provost - Western University Office of the Provost provost.uwo.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. NSERC welcomes Mark Daley, from Western University, as its new Scholar in Residence in Artificial Intelligence nserc-crsng.canada.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. Mark Daley - Computer Science - Western University Computer Science csd.uwo.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. Computational Neuroscience - Western Institute for Neuroscience - Western University win.uwo.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.
  9. How Western University is preparing students for AI - Western News news.westernu.ca. Checked 21 October 2026.