Bolton AI expert agrees with King’s but says slowing down is a mistake

Professor Celestine Iwendi, Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Greater Manchester and Head of the Centre of Intelligence of Things, argues that AI is already transforming society and that the UK risks falling behind if it fails to embrace the technology.

The internationally recognised expert, who has more than 25 years of professional and academic experience and has been recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering under its Exceptional Talent Scheme, believes artificial intelligence is no longer a technology of the future.

“AI is the future and the present at the same time,” he said.

Why slowing AI down would be a “blunder”

Professor Iwendi’s comments come as governments, academics and technology leaders continue to debate how artificial intelligence should be regulated.

First Secretary Louise Haigh warned that artificial intelligence poses “huge risks” to national security unless the proper protections are put in place.

Ms Haigh, who serves as the Government’s de facto deputy prime minister, acknowledged that AI has the potential to transform public services, drive economic growth and accelerate scientific progress.

However, she said people were right to be concerned about the speed of technological change and argued that the Government has a “solemn duty” to intervene where necessary.

The professor says he supports safeguards and oversight, and rejects suggestions that the pace of development should be deliberately slowed.

He described such an approach as a “blunder”.

“Regulation is fine, but regulation should not replace funding,” he said.

“You can’t be saying regulation while others are doing something in the back.”

According to Professor Iwendi, countries that reduce investment in artificial intelligence risk being overtaken by nations that continue to develop and adopt the technology.

Rather than restricting innovation, he believes policymakers should focus on ensuring investment, education and responsible oversight keep pace with advances in the sector.

The new centre was opened with a special conference on artificial intelligence (Image: University of Bolton)

Bringing AI to everyone

At the University of Greater Manchester, Professor Iwendi has helped develop what he calls “Applied AI”, an approach designed to make artificial intelligence accessible regardless of academic background.

The concept allows students from subjects including law, psychology, criminology and statistics to learn how AI can be applied within their own disciplines.

“I created what we call Applied AI,” he said.

“Applied AI means you don’t need to know anything about AI.

“We have people from law, people from psychology, people from statistics, people from criminology.

“The aim is you don’t need to know AI, the model, to come in.”

Alongside university courses, Professor Iwendi has also developed shorter programmes aimed at professionals from a range of industries, helping them understand how artificial intelligence can support their work without requiring extensive technical knowledge.

Students around the country have been found to have been using ChatGPT (Image: Getty)

The workers who should be worried

One of the most common concerns surrounding artificial intelligence is its impact on employment.

From office-based roles to creative industries, fears have grown that AI could eventually replace large sections of the workforce.

He said: “People say AI will take my job so that is why we have to slow down or AI will take the music and I say no, AI would take the job of those who do not know AI.

“It’s as simple as that.”

He said the priority should be ensuring people have opportunities to learn how to use AI effectively rather than preventing its adoption altogether.
Rather than resisting the technology, he believes workers should focus on understanding how to use it effectively.

According to the professor, AI literacy will become an increasingly important workplace skill as organisations across multiple sectors adopt new tools and technologies.

The new centre was opened with a special conference on artificial intelligence (Image: University of Bolton)

If AI falls into the wrong hands

For Professor Iwendi, the implications of artificial intelligence extend far beyond employment.

He believes AI has become a matter of international competitiveness, security and global influence.

The professor warned that countries that fail to understand and utilise the technology could become increasingly dependent on those that do.

“The truth is, if AI falls into the wrong hands and you don’t know what to do, you will definitely be a subordinate,” he said.

“You will definitely be under the people who have AI.”

He believes world leaders must work together to establish common agreements governing the development and use of artificial intelligence.

“I believe the world leaders need to come together,” he said.

“There must be an agreement. Now there is not.”

Agreeing with the King?

Despite his views that AI should not be slowed down, Professor Inwendi backed King Charles’ recent call for careful stewardship when it comes to who controls the data and which safeguards are in place.

At a summit at Dumfries House on September 17, the King warned of the “existential dangers” of AI systems falling into the wrong hands, as he addressed tech leaders from around the world.

Reacting to concerns about AI being misused or falling into the wrong hands, Prof Iwendi said the debate must move beyond excitement about what AI can do to a deeper discussion about who controls it, who controls the data, and who remains accountable when AI systems make consequential decisions.

“The King’s concern is timely.

“AI is extraordinarily powerful, but power without governance can become dangerous.

“We must ask: who owns the data, who trains the systems, who has access, and where is the human in the loop?”

He added that countries should not respond by trying to stop innovation, but by investing in responsible AI, sovereign data capability, strong regulation, cybersecurity, education and human oversight.

“AI will continue to advance.

“The answer is not to slow innovation unnecessarily, but to make sure innovation is safe, transparent, explainable and used for the benefit of society.

“We must prevent powerful AI capabilities from being exploited for fraud, cybercrime, manipulation or other harmful purposes.”

Prof Iwendi said the challenge for governments is therefore twofold: accelerate national AI capability while simultaneously strengthening safeguards, accountability and public trust.

“Human beings must remain at the centre of the AI revolution.”

Human oversight remains essential

Despite his enthusiasm for the technology, Professor Iwendi stressed that ethical safeguards remain crucial.

He said regulation is important not because AI should be slowed down, but because public trust depends on the technology being used responsibly.

“When there is no regulation, it panics people like us because anything can happen,” he said.

“But ethics keeps us regulated.”

He also believes human involvement must remain central to important decision-making processes.

“It’s not to say leave everything to automate, there must be humans.

“If there is no human in the loop, there will be a problem.”

AI-powered X-ray decision-support system will read chest X-rays to identify potential lung cancer (Image: Bolton NHS FT)

Transforming healthcare

Professor Iwendi believes some of the biggest opportunities for AI can already be seen in healthcare.

From disease detection to predictive technology, he says artificial intelligence is helping researchers and medical professionals identify patterns and risks that may previously have gone unnoticed.

“AI is helping in every sector,” he said.

“That is why I can confidently say there will not be an epidemic again that will surprise the world because of AI because with AI we can know; we can predict before anything happens.”

He believes predictive technologies will play an increasingly important role in helping societies prepare for future health challenges and improve patient outcomes.

While experts continue to debate the extent of AI’s future capabilities, Professor Iwendi sees healthcare as one of the sectors where its impact is already becoming evident.

Investment and education

Professor Iwendi also called for greater investment in universities carrying out AI research and innovation.

He argued that institutions outside traditional research powerhouses should not be overlooked when funding decisions are made.

“Big things happen in small schools,” he said.

“They need to invest money, they need to look at those schools where things are happening, where ideas have been generated, where things are real solutions and where real-life impacts have been made.”

Looking ahead, he believes education systems will need to evolve to reflect the increasingly important role artificial intelligence will play in people’s lives and careers.

“All curriculums need to be changed,” he said.

For Professor Iwendi, the challenge facing society is not whether artificial intelligence should continue to develop, but whether governments, businesses and individuals are prepared to understand it, invest in it and use it responsibly.