• Question: Why is it important to get you work out to the public?

    Asked by Bald Beth? to Huma, Jack, Lucy, Miranda, Peter on 8 Nov 2016.
    • Photo: Huma Shah

      Huma Shah answered on 8 Nov 2016:

      Hello Beth,

      Firstly, the public, through taxes, are paying my salary to research in a university, they need to see value for their hard-earned money.

      Secondly, we need more people in artificial intelligence – Melinda Gates, wife of Bill Gates (Microsoft) said about an AI conference this year that she saw “a sea of dudes” – I find the same when I go to conferences, hardly any females in my field. We need to encourage school pupils to come into the science with their fresh ideas.

      Thirdly, getting my research out to the public, and to other researchers, helps to get feedback on my methods of investigating science. This all helps to make me a better scientist and can help to advance the science and to make improvements to human life, even if it is in a tiny way.

      Hope this answer is helpful.

      Huma

    • Photo: Peter Boorman

      Peter Boorman answered on 14 Nov 2016:

      Hi Beth,

      Great question. Communicating results is very important for a number of different reasons. Firstly, a great deal of research is paid for by taxes which are paid by the public. This means that the whole of the public, in my opinion, has a right to see where that money is going, and what the money has been used for.

      Secondly, through displaying work to the public, it can lead to vital feedback, for example, if I’d done anything wrong, and hadn’t realised!

      Peter

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