Advait Sarkar

Advait Sarkar bridges academia and industry as an Affiliated Lecturer at the University of Cambridge, an Honorary Lecturer at University College London, and a researcher at Microsoft. His work examines how artificial intelligence reshapes knowledge work, creativity, and human thought.

Sarkar advises the UK government, other national governments, and regulatory bodies on technology, automation, data, and their societal impacts. At Microsoft, he leads a research agenda within the Tools for Thought group focused on using generative AI to enhance rather than replace critical thinking. His article AI Should Challenge, Not Obey was the cover story of the October 2024 issue of Communications of the ACM.

Since 2017, Sarkar has co-taught Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence (formerly Interaction with Machine Learning) for the Cambridge MPhil in Computer Science, the world’s first graduate course dedicated to designing and evaluating user interfaces for machine-learning systems. He recently spoke at TEDAI Vienna on how designing AI to make us think, rather than think for us, can elevate human intellect and creativity.

Sarkar received his BA and MEng in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge, and his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Cambridge.