Next generation artificial intelligence (AI): explainable AI
Next generation artificial intelligence (AI): explainable AI supports researchers undertaking high-risk fundamental research to transform AI explainability and strengthen the UK’s AI capabilities.
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Funder: UK Research and Innovation
Due Dates: October 20, 2026, 4:00pm UK time (Application deadline) | February 1, 2027 (Required start) | January 31, 2029 (Latest end)
Funding Amounts: Up to £602,500 full economic cost; UKRI funds 80% (£482,000), for up to 24 months
Summary: Supports speculative, high-risk fundamental research capable of delivering a step change in the explainability of future AI systems.
Key Information: Applicant teams must participate in distributed peer review; missing assigned reviews can result in rejection.
Description
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), with the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), runs this first pilot under the flagship UKRI IS8 AI Programme. It supports adventurous fundamental research that could transform AI explainability, strengthen the UK’s ability to design and deploy explainable AI technologies, and create future societal, economic and technological benefits. Early and mid-career researchers and new entrants to strategic AI funding are particularly welcomed.
The scope is broad and problem-focused: how AI systems function, why they produce particular outputs or decisions, and how different audiences understand explanations. Illustrative areas include output reasoning, mechanistic interpretability, process examination, inherently explainable approaches and uncertainty quantification. Novel approaches beyond these areas are welcome. Projects need not produce new models or spinouts within two years, or succeed in every goal; unsuccessful approaches can still generate valuable foundational knowledge.
