University Launches Collaborative AI Lab to Revolutionise Decisi…

The University of Lincoln together with three founding partners - QinetiQ, Quantexa and SRC UK - has launched DecisionWorks, a new innovation lab bringing together academia, industry and government to harness advanced digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) for complex decision-making in the Defence sector and beyond.

Formally launched on Thursday 13 November, the DecisionWorks initiative is a triple-helix partnership based in Lincoln, focused on the national need to re-imagine decision-making for the digital era.

Across public services and industry, decisions are becoming more complex, more data-intensive and more consequential. Research shows that poor or slow decision processes waste billions of pounds each year. Operational decision-making is often time-critical, context-rich and high-stakes: a single poor decision can lead to catastrophic failure, loss of life or strategic defeat. Innovation is therefore essential.

In response, DecisionWorks provides a new innovation engine designed to work at pace, engaging best-of-breed innovator teams with those who own real-world decision problems, with an initial focus on the UK Defence community.

The University was delighted to welcome General Sir Jim Hockenhull (UK Commander Cyber & Specialist Operations Command) to the launch event, where he delivered a keynote address that offered a compelling reflection on the changing needs of the nation and the challenge set for innovators.

General Sir Jim Hockenhull summarised: "We must learn the lessons from current conflicts and adapt at pace. We need to work with academia and industry to find new ways of generating advantage. The threats we face demand urgent action."

The DecisionWorks collaboration complements the University's wider portfolio of research, innovation and education in AI for Defence.

Professor Neal Juster, Vice Chancellor of the University of Lincoln, explained: "DecisionWorks places Lincoln at the heart of the UK's future mission of defence and security in the age of AI. We are bringing together world-class researchers, industry innovators and government partners to tackle some of the hardest problems in complex, high-risk decision-making. This is about ensuring that the UK can make faster, better and more informed decisions than its adversaries - ethically, transparently and responsibly."

More information on the DecisionWorks launch is available here.

The DecisionWorks launch follows a major award to the University from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to lead a consortium of seven UK universities researching the application of AI in defence decision support.