PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Nigel Shadbolt

Nigel Shadbolt is an AI researcher whose career runs from Nottingham's early AI group through Web Science, social machines, and human-centred AI. He helped open public-sector information through data.gov.uk and co-founded the Open Data Institute with Tim Berners-Lee. At Southampton he directed SOCIAM and later served as Principal of Jesus College from 2015 to 2026. His books include The Digital Ape, The Theory and Practice of Social Machines, and As If Human; his 2019 paper also presented Aretha, a smart-home voice assistant for privacy and security. Today, he heads Human Centred AI at Oxford's Institute for Ethics in AI; Oxford appointed him Chair of AI@Oxford Research in December 2025.

Now at
University of Oxford and Open Data Institute
Works
724
Citations
20,090
h-index
56

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 14 October 2026.

Photo of Nigel Shadbolt

Timeline

  1. 1983–2000

    From psychology to AI

    He earned a Philosophy and Psychology degree from the University of Newcastle and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Edinburgh. In 1983, he joined Nottingham's Department of Psychology and established an AI group. In 1992 he became the Allan Standen Professor of Intelligent Systems.

  2. 2000–2014

    Tracing the shape of the web

    He moved to Southampton's School of Electronics and Computer Science in 2000. There, he researched the next generation of the World Wide Web and became the first Head of the Web and Internet Science Group. He was one of the originators of Web Science as an interdisciplinary field.

  3. 2009–2013

    Opening public data

    In 2009, the Prime Minister appointed him and Tim Berners-Lee as Information Advisors to transform access to public-sector information. Their work led to data.gov.uk. He joined the Public Sector Transparency Board in 2010, co-founded the Open Data Institute with Berners-Lee in 2012, and was knighted in 2013 for services to science and engineering.

  4. 2012–2018

    A project on social machines

    He directed SOCIAM, an EPSRC-funded project that ran from 2012 to 2018 with partners at Oxford, Southampton, and Edinburgh. The project explored the theory and practice of social machines.

  5. 2014–2026

    Leading Jesus College

    In 2014, Oxford named him the next Principal of Jesus College and announced that he would take up a professorship in its Department of Computer Science. He served as Principal from 2015 to 2026.

  6. 2018–2024

    Books and a voice assistant

    In 2018, he published The Digital Ape: How to Live (in Peace) with Smart Machines. In 2019, he co-authored The Theory and Practice of Social Machines, which describes tools developed within SOCIAM, and the Aretha paper, a design for a smart-home voice assistant that talks with users about privacy and security. In 2024, he and Roger Hampson published As If Human: Ethics and Artificial Intelligence, which argues for assessing AI actions as if they came from a human being.

  7. December 2025

    Connecting Oxford's AI research

    Oxford appointed him Chair of AI@Oxford Research in December 2025. The role coordinates AI research across the University's divisions, promotes Oxford's expertise, and develops large-scale research proposals.

  8. As of October 2026

    Head of human-centred AI

    He is a Distinguished Senior Scientist and Head of Human Centred AI at Oxford's Institute for Ethics in AI. His Oxford research has focused on human-centred AI across a wide range of applications. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the British Computer Society, and a EurAI Fellow.

Sources and credits

Photo: Paul Clarke, via Wikimedia Commons. License: CC BY 2.0. Source: commons.wikimedia.org. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.

  1. Professor Nigel Shadbolt | Oxford Martin School oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Nigel Shadbolt | The ODI theodi.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Theory And Practice Of Social Machines | University of Southampton southampton.ac.uk. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Sir Nigel Shadbolt – the next Principal of Jesus College & new member of the Computer Science Dept. cs.ox.ac.uk. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. Speakers - World Summit AI Amsterdam worldsummit.ai. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Department of Computer Science, University of Oxford: Publication - Aretha: A Respectful Voice Assistant for the Smart Home cs.ox.ac.uk. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. As If Human yalebooks.yale.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  8. Professor Sir Nigel Shadbolt appointed Chair of AI@Oxford Research, University of Oxford eng.ox.ac.uk. Checked 14 October 2026.
  9. Institute team | Ethics in AI oxford-aiethics.ox.ac.uk. Checked 14 October 2026.
  10. Thomas Lukasiewicz elected fellow of EurAI cs.ox.ac.uk. Checked 14 October 2026.