At a time when artificial intelligence is moving from research labs into everyday life, one of the world’s leading thinkers is calling for a broader, more inclusive approach to shaping its future.
Speaking at the University of Southampton’s AI: Friend or Foe? alumni event, Professor Dame Wendy Hall delivered a clear message: AI must not be left solely to the engineers and big technology companies who build it.
“AI is too profound a breakthrough not to use it,” she said. “I genuinely think that the good use of AI will help us have better quality lives.”
The event, hosted by BBC Technology Editor and fellow Southampton alumna Zoe Kleinman, drew global interest. Dame Wendy explored AI’s potential to improve lives, the risks it presents, and how Southampton is helping people across all disciplines gain the tools to engage with this technology meaningfully.
AI should be seen as a teammate, not a threat
Dame Wendy, a trailblazer in computer science, urged people to see AI not as a rival but as a collaborator.
“[AI will take the drudge out of life]... but it doesn’t mean that the people that do that job... are going to disappear overnight... they'll be able to do other more advanced things,” she explained, later going on to add “I think of AI as part of the team.”
Dame Wendy and Kleinman explored examples ranging from healthcare, where AI is already speeding up diagnoses and supporting radiologists, to education and scientific research, where vast amounts of data are now being analysed with machine learning in ways that humans could never achieve alone.
The University of Southampton's leading role in shaping the AI future
Dame Wendy’s remarks also celebrated the university she has called home for over 40 years.
She opened the conversation by reflecting on her deep connection to Southampton, “I’m a proud alumni of Southampton and I’m proud to have worked at Southampton. I was tempted away a few times, but I’ve always stayed at Southampton because it’s always been the right place for me to work from.”
Later, she proudly noted the university’s pioneering work in AI, “Southampton is one of the top multi-agent systems research groups in the world... We’ve been doing multi-agent systems for twenty-odd years.”
That heritage now underpins a forward-thinking approach to AI education. Southampton’s suite of online postgraduate conversion courses are designed for students from non-technical backgrounds. These courses are ideal for professionals in law, public service, media, healthcare, arts, or business who want to understand and apply AI in their own field.
Southampton Online currently offers three specialist pathways:
- MA Artificial Intelligence, which provides a strong theoretical and practical foundation in AI methods
- MA Artificial Intelligence (Criminal Justice Systems), for those working in or entering legal, policing or policy roles
- MA Artificial Intelligence (Digital Transformation), designed for professionals leading change in organisations across the private and public sectors
The university’s online programmes also specifically address the need for ethical, social and policy-based perspectives on AI, something Dame Wendy has championed at the highest levels, including through her role on the United Nations’ High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence.
Optimism with a note of caution
While Dame Wendy and Kleinman spoke with optimism about AI’s potential to transform healthcare, education, and global development, they were equally candid about the serious challenges it poses. From environmental costs to misinformation and deepfakes, the need for strong oversight and accountability was emphasised.
Earlier in the conversation, Dame Wendy pointed to the historical impact of technology on employment, noting, “History tells us that new breakthroughs in technology lead to more jobs, not less.”
Later, reflecting on the scale and inevitability of AI’s rise, she added, “The genie is out of the bottle — we’ve got to cope with it anyway.”
The conversation as a whole suggested a broad vision: an AI-literate society in which technologists, ethicists, creatives, educators, and policymakers work together to shape systems that benefit humanity.
Whether AI proves a friend or foe, will likely depend not on the machines themselves, but on the people shaping their use.
Interested in building your own understanding of AI and applying it in your field?
Find out more about Southampton Online’s MA Artificial Intelligence courses, including specialist pathways in Criminal Justice Systems and Digital Transformation. These fully online programmes are designed to help learners from all backgrounds shape the future of AI:
Explore Artificial Intelligence courses
