Advait Sarkar | Professional

Affiliations

Current

Researcher, Microsoft Research (2017—present)
Affiliated lecturer, Department of Computer Science and Technology, University of Cambridge (2018—present)
Honorary lecturer, UCL Interaction Centre, University College London (2022—present)
Member, University of Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy (CSaP) (2015—present)
Member, Cambridge Centre for Data-Driven Discovery (C2D3) (formerly the Cambridge Big Data Strategic Research Initiative) (2014—present)
I serve on the awards committee for the Cambridge Society for the Application of Research (2018, 2020—present).

Past

I was a Fellow of Darwin College, Cambridge (2017—2019)
I served on the selection committee for the Darwin College Microsoft Research Fellowships in 2018 and 2019.
I was a Fellow of the Cambridge Philosophical Society (2014—2018)
I served on the executive committee of the Cambridge University LGBT campaign as Computing Officer in 2010-2011.
I served on the executive committee of the Cambridge University Scientific Society (SciSoc) as Director for Information Technology in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011.

Policy & outreach

March 2025: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Alex Moltzau (Policy Officer, Seconded National Expert in the European AI Office, European Commission) to discuss geopolitical implications for regulatory sandboxes and the EU AI Act.
March 2025: I co-authored an article for Times Higher Education on sampled viva moderation to address AI cheating at Universities, led by Duncan Brumby, Anna Cox, and Sandy Gould.
October 2024: My article, "AI Should Challenge, Not Obey" was the cover story for the Communications of the ACM. See the video interview.
August 2024: My colleague and I were interviewed by Niklas Forsström (see video) about our work on understanding generative AI-assisted data analysis.
March 2024: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Calum Handforth (Advisor, UNDP Global Centre for Technology, Innovation, and Sustainable Development) to discuss international development strategies for soft and hard AI infrastructure.
October 2023: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Ben Henshall (Deputy Director, Data Science and AI, Number 10) to discuss how large language models (LLMs) and other AI technologies can be used to support the delivery and design of government services and policy.
September 2023: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Isabelle De Pauw (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) to discuss regulatory agility for mitigating harms and promoting equality of benefits from generative AI.
March 2023: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Dr Francesca Gauntlett (Head of Research, Evidence and Dissemination in Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS), BEIS) to discuss the role of AI in regulating online marketplaces for consumer safety, and methods for countering misinformation.
March 2023: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Luke Godwin (Senior Policy Adviser, Financial Stability, HM Treasury) to discuss the impact of AI on the UK finance sector, and methods for countering misinformation.
June 2022: I gave a policy meeting with Ben Douglass-Smith (Assistant Director for Services and Digital Trade Strategy, Department for International Trade) and Damian Allinson (trade official for HM Government, Department for International Trade) to discuss the UK's digital trade strategy, in particular how it can support the government's ambitions with regards to levelling-up and climate change.
May 2022: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Calum Handforth (Advisor, UNDP Global Centre for Technology, Innovation, and Sustainable Development) to discuss strategies for provision and the appropriate purview of digital public goods and infrastructure.
May 2022: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Sam Cannicott (Deputy Director of Projects, UK Government Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation) to discuss explainability in AI and assurance for commercial AI systems, such as autonomous vehicles.
July 2021: I gave a policy meeting with Ronan Le Gleut (French senator for expatriates — sénateur des Français établis hors de France) to discuss multitasking and fatigue in online meetings, and implications for national digital strategy.
July 2021: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Joseph Metcalf (Senior Policy Advisor, Cabinet Office) to discuss the impact of remote work, the gig economy, and AI services on digital trade.
June 2021: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Tom McNeil (Strategic Board Member, West Midlands Police & Crime Commissioner's Office) to discuss predictive policing technology.
March 2021: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Benjamin Wannenwetsch (Head of Technology & Capital Investment, British Consulate-General Munich) to discuss AI and data regulations, making strategic decisions that will shape the German-British tech trading relationship, particularly post-Brexit.
June 2020: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Max Beverton-Palmer (Head of Internet Policy, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change) to discuss how technology and government digital infrastucture investment should play a role in economic recovery and growth.
June 2020: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with David Knight (Head of Data Economy Team, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) to discuss trustworthiness and transparency in data use, and how to measure and improve data-driven decision making in the UK Government.
March 2020: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Daniel Shaw (Head of Housing and Planning Statistics, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government) to discuss the applications of technology, data analytics and machine learning for the future of planning affordable and climate-forward housing.
March 2020: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Nicola Davis (Head of Languages Team at Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO)) to discuss the applications of technology in language learning and translation.
November 2019: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Adam Ingle (Assistant Director, Department of Home Affairs (Australia)) to discuss whether emerging technologies will impact the balance between privacy and security, national regulation of digital technology, and whether technology manufacturers and online service providers have a responsibility to national security and law enforcement agencies.
October 2019: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Luke Hughes (Senior Policy Adviser, Exploitation Projects Team, Home Office) to discuss ethics and morality offline and online, and how the state might micro-target citizens for the delivery of public services, in an ethical, legal and publicly acceptable way.
October 2019: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Vinous Ali (Head of Policy, TechUK) to discuss the changing landscape of employment due to automation, and what government and industry can do to prepare.
June 2019: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Katherine Oyama (former White House Associate Counsel and Deputy Counsel to Vice President Joe Biden; currently Senior Policy Counsel for Google) to discuss the relationship between copyright law and machine learning.
May 2019: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Gaia Marcus (Head of Data Strategy at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport) to discuss value of data, the long-term effects of automation, and the effects on society of the Internet giants' business models.
February 2019: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Jon Sell (Deputy Director, Corporate Finance, Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy HM Treasury) to discuss the role of artificial intelligence in supporting investor choice for sustainable capital allocations, focusing particularly on climate related risks and opportunities.
March 2018: I gave a talk titled 'Artificial Intelligence: let's lose the hype and think practically' at TEDx Cambridge University.
June 2017: I participated in a Cambridge mathematics workshop on the future of the UK national mathematics curriculum.
May 2017: I participated in the 2017 annual CSAR debate: This house believes that Artificial Intelligence / Robotics will make us happier. I seconded the opposition, which was the winning side. Marta Cecchinato wrote a nice blog post.
March 2017: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Dr Steve Smith (Head of Science, Committee on Climate Change) to discuss the role of machine learning as part of the problem and solution to the emissions problem, low-emission innovation, and energy demands of future homes and buildings.
February 2017: I participated in the CSaP workshop on future of mobility, a half-day panel discussion in assistance of a Foresight Project on the future of mobility being undertaken by the Government Office for Science.
May 2016: I gave a talk titled 'When artificial stupidity takes over the world', as part of the 2016 Pint of Science festival. The talk was a friendly introduction to AI for a public audience and the venue sold out several weeks in advance.
April 2016: I was interviewed by Cambridge TV (link to video) about the growth and challenges surrounding machine learning. We discussed the recent defeat of Lee Sedol, champion Go player, by the AlphaGo artificial intelligence, as well as issues of interpretability and accountability.
January 2016: I gave a one-on-one policy meeting with Sophie Odenthal (at that time Advisor to the Behavioural Insights Team, currently Advisor to Her Majesty's Treasury) to discuss the use of data analytics to improve the uptake and quality of education.

Academic community service

Guest editor, ACM Transactions on Interactive Intelligent Systems, Special Issue on Human-centered Explainable AI, 2023

Technical Program Co-chair, CHIWORK 2026
Co-chair, The End of Programming (as we know it) - Envisioning Radical Re-Conceptualizations of Co-Coding with AI, the sixth decennial Aarhus conference (Aarhus 2025)
Co-chair, Workshop on Tools for Thought, CHI 2025
Publicity and social media co-chair, VL/HCC 2025
Conversations co-chair, CHIWORK 2024
Co-chair, Transparency and Explanations in Smart Systems, IUI 2023
Co-chair, Transparency and Explanations in Smart Systems, IUI 2022
Co-chair, Transparency and Explanations in Smart Systems, IUI 2021
Co-chair, Explainable Smart Systems for Algorithmic Transparency in Emerging Technologies, IUI 2020
Co-chair, Explainable Smart Systems, IUI 2019
Finance chair, VL/HCC 2017
Showpieces chair, VL/HCC 2016

Program committee, CHIWORK 2025
Program committee, the sixth decennial Aarhus conference (Aarhus 2025) (critiques)
Program committee, VL/HCC 2024
Program committee, FairUMAP 2023
Program committee, VL/HCC 2023
Program committee, VL/HCC 2022
Program committee, VL/HCC 2021
Program committee, VL/HCC 2020
Program committee, VL/HCC 2019
Program committee, OzCHI 2019
Program committee, IUI 2019
Program committee, OzCHI 2018 (short papers)
Program committee, CHI 2018 (late-breaking work)
Program committee, IUI 2018
Program committee, VL/HCC 2017
Program committee, PPIG 2016

Panellist, EPSRC UKRI AISI Systemic AI Safety Grants, 2025
Reviewer, Israel Science Foundation, 2022

Reviewer, CHI 2025
Reviewer, IJHCS, 2024
Reviewer, CHI 2024 🏆 Special recognition for outstanding review
Reviewer, CSCW 2024
Reviewer, VL/HCC 2024 (workshop)
Reviewer, IJHCS, 2023
Reviewer, PPIG 2022
Reviewer, DIS 2022 🏆 Special recognition for outstanding review
Reviewer, CHI 2022 (late-breaking work)
Reviewer, FairUMAP 2022
Reviewer, NIME 2021
Reviewer, Complexity, 2020
Reviewer, TIIS, 2017
Reviewer, PPIG 2017
Reviewer, CHI 2017 🏆 Excellent reviewer award
Reviewer, VL/HCC 2017
Reviewer, CHI 2016
Reviewer, PPIG 2016
Reviewer, Eurographics 2016
Reviewer, Knowledge-Based Systems, 2016
Reviewer, British HCI 2015

Session chair, CHI 2024
Session chair, VL/HCC 2020
Session chair, VL/HCC 2018
Session chair, VL/HCC 2016
Session chair, PPIG 2016

Mentor for student consortium, CHIWORK 2024

Awards

Microsoft worldwide hackathon, September 2024
- Executive Challenge - Everyday AI - 2nd Place
- Topic Challenge - Hack for differentiated experiences on Copilot+ PCs - First Place / Prompt Engineering
Best paper, CHI 2024, May 2024
Microsoft worldwide hackathon, September 2023
- Honourable mention, Hack for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion global executive challenge
Honourable mention, CHI 2023, May 2023
Microsoft worldwide hackathon, July 2019
- 1^st place, LinkedIn global executive challenge
- Honourable mention for best project, Microsoft Research Cambridge
Microsoft worldwide hackathon, July 2018
- Best project, Microsoft Research Cambridge
Cambridge Society for the Application of Research student award, March 2017
Microsoft worldwide hackathon, July 2017
- Honourable mention for best project, Microsoft Research Cambridge
- 1^st place, customer category: millennials (global executive challenge)
Highly commended paper (honourable mention), VL/HCC 2016, September 2016
Microsoft worldwide hackathon, July 2016
- Best project, Microsoft Research Cambridge
- Hack for Her global award winner
- 1^st place, cloud penetration and consumption global executive challenge
Honourable mention, EuroVis 2016, June 2016
Emmanuel College Prize & Honorary Bachelor Scholarship (£1,200), July 2013
Sudbury-Hardyman Prize & Ash Senior Scholarship (£300), June 2012

Grants

Collaboration partner for Responsible AI (RAI) UK grant for the Participatory Harm Auditing Workbenches and Methodologies (PHAWM) Project (∼£3.5 million), 2024-2028
EPSRC + BT Research and Technology industrial CASE award (∼£110,000), October 2013 - March 2017
Cambridge Computer Laboratory Robert Sansom studentship (∼£66,000), October 2013 - March 2017
Cambridge Society for the Application of Research student award (£1,000), March 2017
Microsoft Research Cambridge conference scholarship (£500), May 2016
VL/HCC 2015 Graduate consortium scholarship ($2,000), October 2015
Diagrams 2014 Graduate symposium scholarship ($410), August 2014
Cambridge Commonwealth Trust scholarship (£24,000), October 2009 - June 2013