We’re delighted to announce our keynote speakers for BCS HCI 2025

Opening Keynote


Where is HCI Heading in the Era of AI? Abstract coming soon!

Bio

Yvonne Rogers is a Professor of Interaction Design, the director of UCLIC and a deputy head of the Computer Science department at University College London. Her research is concerned with designing interactive technologies that can empower humans. She is currently interested in what human-centred AI means, and how we can develop AI tools to think with that augment rather than replace us. Central to her work is a critical stance towards how visions, theories and frameworks shape the fields of HCI, cognitive science and ubiquitous computing. She been instrumental in promulgating new theories (e.g., external cognition), alternative methodologies (e.g., in the wild studies) and far-reaching research agendas (e.g., “Being Human” manifesto) and has pioneered an approach to innovation and ubiquitous learning. She has received various awards including being elected as an international member of the National Academy of Engineering, the ACM SIGCHI Lifetime Achievement Research Award, a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Royal Society Robin Milner Medal for computer science. She was also awarded a Chair of Excellence from the University of Bremen (2020-2025).

Closing Keynote


Building the Empty Loop The discourse surrounding AI has reached a fever pitch, with a relentless drive to automate every facet of our work. But in our quest for ultimate efficiency, where do we draw the line? This talk explores that question by taking the idea of automation to its logical, and perhaps ridiculous, conclusion. What if we remove humans entirely from the product lifecycle—not just from the research, design, and development, but from the user base itself? As both a CTO and an engineer, I will take you on a practical journey to build this seemingly absurd reality: an agentic workflow where AI systems are tasked with building a product for other AI systems to use. We will witness the triumphs and hilarious failures of this process, finding where AI’s capabilities are truly remarkable and where they fall comically short without human intuition and intent. While we laugh at a product built by machines, for machines, we will be forced to confront fundamental questions: What is the point of innovation without human benefit? How far are we willing to push automation? And in a world increasingly run by AI, what does it truly mean to be human?

Building the Empty Loop

The discourse surrounding AI has reached a fever pitch, with a relentless drive to automate every facet of our work. But in our quest for ultimate efficiency, where do we draw the line? This talk explores that question by taking the idea of automation to its logical, and perhaps ridiculous, conclusion. What if we remove humans entirely from the product lifecycle—not just from the research, design, and development, but from the user base itself?

As both a CTO and an engineer, I will take you on a practical journey to build this seemingly absurd reality: an agentic workflow where AI systems are tasked with building a product for other AI systems to use. We will witness the triumphs and hilarious failures of this process, finding where AI’s capabilities are truly remarkable and where they fall comically short without human intuition and intent.

While we laugh at a product built by machines, for machines, we will be forced to confront fundamental questions: What is the point of innovation without human benefit? How far are we willing to push automation? And in a world increasingly run by AI, what does it truly mean to be human?

Bio

Liam Betsworth is the Chief Technology Officer at AMPLYFI, an organisation that delivers AI-powered Market Intelligence. During his time at AMPLYFI, he has directed product, engineering and R&D, connecting advanced technology with genuine user needs. He’s fascinated by the opportunities and limitations that generative AI presents in this space. His approach is informed by a background in academic research and commercial development, having spent time in a broad range of roles such as research assistant, software engineer and UX designer. During his PhD in Human-Computer Interaction at Swansea University, he collaborated with both IBM and the BBC on the research and development of novel user experiences.