King's College London

Professor Elena Simperl, Co-Director of the King's Institute for Artificial Intelligence and Professor of Computer Science at King's College London, has been named in the Foundever AI 100 UK 2026, a list recognising 100 leaders and innovators helping to put artificial intelligence into practice across the UK.

The 100 individuals were selected from more than 500 applications and nominations from across academia, business, government and the third sector.

Organised by Foundever and Digital Leaders, the annual AI 100 celebrates people who are making a significant contribution to the UK's AI landscape through research, innovation, policy and practice.

At King's, Elena Simperl co-directs the King's Institute for Artificial Intelligence and leads research at the intersection of artificial intelligence and social computing as a Professor of Computer Science. She is also Director of Research at the Open Data Institute, where her work focuses on data-centric approaches to AI and the development of trustworthy and transparent AI systems.

Commenting on the recognition, Elena said: "I'm delighted, and genuinely humbled, to have been selected. The judging looks at impact rather than job titles, and the list covers business, government, academia and the third sector, which is how it should be."

"I'd like to think this also recognises the case for data-centric AI, which I've championed for years. AI is only as good as the data and background knowledge it draws on. That knowledge has to be machine-readable and trusted, and it works best when it's built openly, with stakeholders taking part."

Public voting is now open until 5 October for the AI 100 UK 2026 People's Choice Award, which will give special recognition to an individual from the list who has received the strongest support from voters.