Abstract: A computational system is called autonomous if it is able to make its own decisions, or take its own actions, without human supervision or control. The capability and spread of such systems have reached the point where they are beginning to touch much of everyday life. However, regulators grapple with how to deal with autonomous systems: for example how could we certify an Unmanned Aerial System for autonomous use in civilian airspace? We analyse what is needed in order to provide verified reliable behaviour of an autonomous system, analyse what can be done as the state-of-the-art in automated verification, and propose a roadmap towards developing regulatory guidelines, including articulating challenges to researchers, to engineers, and to regulators. We illustrate with case studies in seven distinct domains. This is joint work with Michael Fisher, Viviana Mascardi, Kristin Yvonne Rozier, Bernd?Holger Schlingloff and Michael Winikoff.

 

Short Bio: Neil Yorke-Smith directs the Socio-Technical Algorithmic Research (STAR) Lab at TU Delft. His research addresses a fundamental question of the AI era: how can technology help people make decisions in complex socio-technical situations? Yorke-Smith is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, Delft University of Technology. Previously, Yorke-Smith held positions at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, and SRI International, USA. He holds a doctorate degree from Imperial College London. Yorke-Smith is a Senior Member of AAAI, a Senior Member of ACM, and a member of CLAIRE and ELLIS.