Encouraging early careers: CommsCo Tech Chat with Bayezian

When it comes to AI discourse, the news is often focused on overly ambitious, off-the-wall developments. It’s understandable; we know what makes a good headline, too.

But what about the young minds pushing the AI envelope, experimenting in the fields of LLMs and neuroscience? Tom and Lee wanted to know more and that’s where Bayezian, the UK-based AI company and incubator, comes in.

Tomorrow Bayezian officially launches its Neuroscience & AI Centre of Excellence at Neuron Pod in London. So, there was no better time to sit down with three Bayezian team members – Ed Dixon, Isabella Maranhao, and Charlotte Davidson – to learn all about the company’s mission and future plans.

We start with Ed, the co-founder and CEO of Bayezian. Before founding Bayezian, Ed worked at large corporations and found that companies wanted to integrate new tech but would often come up against the digital skills gap when putting it into practice. Then, when the pandemic hit, Ed decided it was time to launch Bayezian and its incubator.

Bayezian’s mission is to encourage early careers data scientists to experiment and explore their technical capabilities without fear, alongside navigating opportunities others in similar roles wouldn’t have. Is a team member passionate about tech in education? Great – they can work on a project that empowers them to experiment and innovate without barriers or judgement.

It’s all about the power of play and experimentation. And, as Ed says, young minds haven’t been constantly told ‘no’ in a corporate environment, so they’re much more likely to tackle challenges with an open mind and can-do attitude.

‘Plus One’ projects

A core part of the incubator is individual ‘Plus One’ projects. Tom and Lee are joined by two other Bayezian team members, Charlotte and Bel, to reflect on what these projects – and the incubator as a whole – has given them. Ultimately, it’s given them a sense of freedom, mentorship and a vital support network.

Currently, Charlotte and Bel are working on two projects in differing spaces. Charlotte is working on jailbreaking large language models (and even convincing them you’re God with different prompts), whereas Bel is using neuroscience to aid patients without speech. It’s fascinating stuff.

Finally, what would the team do if they weren’t dealing with data? Bel would live on a farm rescuing dogs and writing books, Ed would be writing books (but perhaps with fewer dogs than Bel!) and Charlotte would be seeing the world as a flight attendant.

Want to attend Bayezian’s Neuroscience & AI Centre of Excellence launch event tomorrow? Register here.

Listen to the full episode here.