In this episode of the Research and Innovation Podcast, Rashik Parmar MBE, and Professor Mehmet Dogar explore advances in artificial intelligence, responsible computing, and robotics. They discuss why responsible computing is becoming urgent, the challenges of making digital systems ethical and sustainable, and the ambition to position the UK as a world-leader in this space. Mehmet shares insights from the University of Leeds Robotics Lab, including why robotics lags behind other areas of AI and how researchers are tackling complex tasks like multi-object packing and physical interaction. Together, they look ahead to what responsible, trustworthy computing and more capable robots could mean for society in the coming years.

Both Rashik and Mehmet presented on these topics at the Leeds Digital Festival event - “The future is now: tech driving UK industry” - which was co-hosted by Leeds University Business School and the School of Computer Science.

Mehmet’s research is supported by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council [EP/V052659/1]

This episode was recorded on 8 December 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

About the speakers:

Rashik Parmar MBE is a member of Leeds University Business School’s Research International Advisory Board. Previously, Rashik was Group CEO of the British Computer Society (BCS), and the IBM Fellow and Vice President responsible for creating and driving IBM’s European technical strategy. Rashik is a member of the Open University Council and also chairs the Industry Advisory Board for Digit Lab.

Professor Mehmet Dogar is Professor of Robotics & AI at the University of Leeds. His research focuses on autonomous robotic manipulation. Mehmet is an EPSRC Fellow, and an Associate Editor for the International Journal of Robotics Research, and an Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Robotics.

Related journal articles by Professor Dogar and colleagues:

• Tracking and Control of Multiple Objects During Nonprehensile Manipulation in Clutter
• Goal-Conditioned Model Simplification for 1-D and 2-D Deformable Object Manipulation
• Sampling-Based Model Predictive Control for Dexterous Manipulation on a Biomimetic Tendon-Driven Hand

In this introductory episode, Professor Helen Hughes and Emma Findlay explain the purpose of the Surgical Care Observatory and why successful surgical innovation is about far more than the tech itself. They discuss system readiness, and how sociotechnical frameworks can help the NHS implement new technologies safely, effectively, and sustainably.

This episode was recorded on 24th November 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

Visit the project webpage.

This project is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

About the speakers: Dr Helen Hughes is an Associate Professor at Leeds University Business School and Director of the Behaviour Lab. Helen in an interdisciplinary researcher, whose research spans aerospace to healthcare sectors. Helen is currently an Associate Editor at Ergonomics journal, and a Co-Investigator within the NIHR-funded Surgical Health-Tech Research Centre, where she leads the ‘Surgical Observatory’ workstream.

Emma Findlay is a Research Officer at Leeds University Business School, working in the Surgical Care Observatory theme of the HealthTech Research Centre in Accelerated Surgical Care. Her research explores the underpinning psychology of complex systems; including medtech implementation, surgical sustainability and multiteam system functioning.

Articles mentioned in this episode and related reading:

• “Organisational psychologists – essential to saving the NHS”, The Psychologist, 31 October 2025, Helen Hughes and Emma Findlay
• “The Principles of Sociotechnical Design”, Human Relations, Albert Cherns, 1976
• “Sociotechnical principles for system design”, Applied Ergonomics, Chris Clegg, 2000
• “Leveraging socio-technical systems to tackle grand challenges: Reflections on human-robot teams, hybrid workplaces, med-tech, and digital transformation”, Ergonomics, Matthew Davis, Helen Hughes, Mark Robinson, Jeffery Scales, Shankar Sankaran, Dikai Liu, Emma Findlay and Emma Gritt, 2025

In this episode, Professor Magda Osman and Dr Sarah Jenkins discuss risk communication, exploring what role the social sciences play in risk communications, whether it can ever be objective, how people perceive and tolerate risk differently, and how trade-offs and context shape the risk decisions people make.

This episode was recorded on 4th August 2025. If you would like to get in touch regarding this episode, please contact research.lubs@leeds.ac.uk. A transcript of this episode is available.

About the speakers:

Magda Osman holds a Visiting Professor of Impact Position at Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds, and is a Research Professor at the Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. She is a psychologist by training, with a specific interest in decision-making under risk and uncertainty, risk analysis and causal analysis, folk beliefs in the manipulation of the unconscious, as well as an interest in examining effectiveness of methods of behavioural change.

Dr Sarah Jenkins is a Lecturer in Applied Decision-Making and a cognitive psychologist, with extensive experience of conducting applied research focusing on how people understand, communicate and make decisions concerning risk and uncertainty. She holds a joint post between the Centre for Decision Research at Leeds University Business School, and the Met Office, where she is applying social science techniques to deliver high-impact decision research in areas related to weather and climate.