Chancellor’s Award for Research goes to Professor Shannon Vallor
From left to right: Professor Shannon Vallor, Mr Nial Moffat, Principal and Vice-Chancellor Peter Mathieson, Dr Katherine Atkins, Professor Meryl Kenny. Image credit: Neil Hanna
We are delighted to announce that Professor Shannon Vallor has been awarded the Chancellor’s Award for Research by the University’s Chancellor, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal, at a gala dinner held at the Palace of Holyroodhouse on Wednesday, 13 November.
This honour is one of four Chancellor’s Awards presented annually to celebrate exceptional contributions in teaching, research, and impact at the University of Edinburgh.
The Chancellor’s Awards, established in 2003, recognise innovation, relevance, creativity, personal dedication and impact in teaching and research. The Award for Research honours a colleague who has recently enhanced the University's research reputation through a significant contribution to research.
Professor Vallor received the Chancellor’s Award for Research in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the University’s research profile and her significant impact on advancing the ethics of data and AI. Her pioneering work in ethical design and use of AI has positioned the University at the forefront of responsible AI research.
Professor Vallor is the Director of the Centre for Technomoral Futures within the Edinburgh Futures Institute. She also holds the Baillie Gifford Chair in the Ethics of Data and Artificial Intelligence within the University’s Philosophy department.
It is a profound honour to be recognised with this award, which is only possible thanks to the University’s world-leading environment for transformational interdisciplinary research. Through the Edinburgh Futures Institute, my colleagues and I can infuse research in AI and data ethics with expertise across the arts, humanities, sciences and technical disciplines, while partnering with those beyond academia to put this knowledge to work for society. I am deeply grateful for that opportunity.
- Professor Shannon Vallor
After a distinguished career in the United States, where she established herself as a thought leader in the ethics of emerging technologies, Professor Vallor joined the University in 2020. Her latest book, The AI Mirror: How to Reclaim Our Humanity in an Age of Machine Thinking (Oxford University Press, 2024), explores the human implications of AI. This book, as well as her previous work, Technology and the Virtues: A Philosophical Guide to a Future Worth Wanting (Oxford University Press, 2016) has been widely acclaimed. The AI Mirror was recently shortlisted for the Royal Institute of Philosophy’s 2024 Nayef Al-Rodhan Book Prize.
Currently, Professor Vallor also serves as Co-Director, alongside Professor Ewa Luger, of the UKRI-funded BRAID (Bridging Responsible AI Divides) research programme, supported by the Arts and Humanities Research Council with a £15.9 million funding commitment through 2028.
Professor Shannon Vallor's exceptional work in ethical AI has positioned our School and the University more widely at the forefront of responsible technology research. This prestigious award underscores the invaluable role Shannon plays in advancing critical discourse on the ethics around these emerging technologies, and also celebrates her profound contribution to society’s understanding of their nature and impact.
- Professor Willem Hollmann, Head of School, Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences
We are all incredibly proud of Shannon and congratulate her for receiving this award that recognises her immense contribution to the University’s wider research in ethics and AI. Her leadership as Director of the Centre for Technomoral Futures ensures that Edinburgh Futures Institute is at the forefront of futures-focused research in ethical AI, which is one of the most pressing issues of our time. Shannon and her team are helping create a better understanding of how to use data ethically, collaboratively and innovatively. She is an inspiring role model for us all.
- Professor Kevin Dhaliwal, Interim Director, Edinburgh Futures Institute
Find out more:
Shannon Vallor — Centre for Technomoral Futures
Shannon Vallor | The University of Edinburgh