The inaugural lecture of Professor Sharyn O'Halloran, SALI Chair of Political Economy and joint appointment across the Departments of Economics and Political Science, took place on the evening of November 1st 2022 in the Robert Emmet Theatre at Trinity College Dublin. Titled "How Can Artificial Intelligence Improve Public Policy?", the lecture drew on Professor O'Halloran's extensive research at the intersection of political economy, data science, and applied AI.
A leading scholar in the use of computational and quantitative methods to analyse policy and regulatory systems, Professor O'Halloran explored how machine learning and AI tools can be leveraged by governments and institutions to design more effective, evidence-based policy. Her wider research in this area includes work on using AI to predict the resilience of democracies to economic crises, and on the role of AI in enhancing financial market regulation.
Inaugural lectures at Trinity mark a professor's formal installation in their Chair and offer an opportunity to set out the intellectual ambitions of their work for the wider College community. The School warmly congratulates Professor O'Halloran on a thought-provoking and timely inaugural lecture.