In an era where artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming every facet of our lives, the AI Handbook offers a comprehensive exploration of AI’s applications, challenges, and future trends, providing invaluable insights from policymakers, academics, and industry experts.
This edited handbook explores AI’s applications, challenges, and future trends across multiple sectors.
It brings together policymakers, academics, and practitioners to provide insights into AI’s impact, covering foundational principles, real-world use cases, and ethical considerations.
The book examines emerging trends like autonomous systems and IoT integration.
We invite contributions from experts to shape a comprehensive, multidisciplinary perspective on AI’s evolving role in society and the economy.
The need for multidisciplinary AI research
AI is reshaping industries, governance, and society, yet its rapid evolution presents challenges in ethics, regulation, and responsible deployment.
This edited book addresses the need for a multidisciplinary perspective by bringing together policymakers, academics, and practitioners to explore AI’s applications, risks, and future directions.
By examining AI’s role in various sectors, this handbook highlights its potential to optimise processes, enhance decision-making, and drive innovation and sustainability. It addresses key concerns like data privacy, algorithmic bias, and regulatory frameworks to ensure ethical and legal compliance.
Contributing to broader societal goals, this handbook promotes responsible AI adoption, fosters collaboration, and informs strategies for sustainable technological development.
By bridging knowledge gaps, it empowers stakeholders to harness AI’s benefits while mitigating risks for a more inclusive and ethical AI-driven future.
This edited book uniquely combines perspectives from policymakers, academics, and industry experts to provide a holistic view of AI’s applications, challenges, and future trends.
Unlike traditional AI books, which often focus solely on technical advancements or policy, this book bridges the gap between theory, practice, and regulation. It serves as a critical resource for guiding AI’s evolution in a way that balances innovation with societal impact, ensuring ethical and sustainable progress.
Exploring AI's transformative potential and challenges
The primary aim of the AI Handbook is to highlight the transformative potential of AI while addressing its ethical, legal, and operational challenges. Key topics include foundational AI concepts such as machine learning, neural networks, and natural language processing, as well as sector-specific case studies demonstrating real-world AI applications.
These case studies will show how AI is driving innovations in various industries, enhancing operational efficiency, and improving decision-making. At the same time, the book will tackle important challenges such as data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the need for regulatory frameworks to ensure that AI is developed and deployed ethically.
By examining various emerging trends, this handbook will offer insights into the next phase of AI development and its potential impact on various industries. The inclusion of these forward-looking topics will provide readers with an understanding of where AI is heading and how it can be harnessed for further societal benefit.
A key feature of this edited volume is its emphasis on practical, actionable strategies for AI adoption.
Dr Asieh Tabaghdehi - Dr Asieh Tabaghdehi is a Senior Lecturer in Strategy and Business Economy, and Programme Lead for the BSc International Business Programme and Trade2Grow Executive Education Programme at Brunel University of London, as well as, an economist and social impact advisor for the independent NGO, Social Innovation Movement.
Asieh is a well-recognised academic in digital transformation, focusing on the strategic integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies to advance sustainable business practices and address critical social and economic challenges. From 2021 to 2022, Asieh co-investigated the Digital Footprint Project, funded by the UK Research Institute (UKRI), that explored the ethical implications of digital footprint data on value creation for SMEs. One of the project outputs was the Digital Business Auditing Framework, which has been adopted internationally for smart city initiatives.
Asieh has attained an international reputation in the field of ethical integration and deployment of AI, particularly in the contexts of smart data governance. Her research integrates industry collaboration, public engagement, and policy dialogue with an emphasis on the social and economic dimensions of responsible smart city development and innovative healthcare systems. Asieh’s contributions have been widely cited in academic, practitioner, and policy outputs, and her research has informed national and international governments and businesses. Her research on connected technology has been presented as both written and oral evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee at the request of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and has been featured in national and international press. She is widely published in academic peer-reviewed journals, the press, is a frequent speaker at academic and industry conferences, and has responded to a number of policy inquiries at national and international level. She is also the author of the book Business Strategies and Ethical Challenges in the Digital Ecosystem, which addresses multiple facets of the AI ecosystem, including data ethics, governance, and innovation. In collaboration with the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Asieh co-designed the "Digital Adoption" module for the UK Government’s Help to Grow Management program, aimed at enhancing the digital capabilities of SMEs.
Asieh is a Fellow of the UK Higher Education Academy, a member of the ESRC Review College, the British Academy of Management Review College, and the Energy Institute UK. She also serves as an associate practitioner at Social Value International, an associate member of the Big Innovation Centre, and All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG)- Artificial Intelligence. She is also a member of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence: Social and Digital Innovation at Brunel University of London. Currently, Asieh serves as the Impact Lead at the Brunel Centre for AI, where she leads the capability area in the Future of Work.
Asieh earned her PhD in Economics and Finance (2008) and MSc in International Money, Finance, and Investment (2015), both from Brunel University London. She joined Brunel in 2020 after holding academic positions at Regent’s University London, where she also served as Director for the BSc Global Management (Finance Pathway). Prior to her academic career, she gained industry experience as a business analyst, further enriching her interdisciplinary approach to research and teaching.
Professor Ashley Braganza - Professor Braganza is Dean of Brunel Business School and holds the Chair in Business Transformation. Prior to being appointed Dean, Professor Braganza was the Deputy Dean of the College of Business, Arts and Social Sciences.
He is the Founder and co-Director of Brunel’s interdisciplinary Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence, launched in 2018, which incorporates a dedicated AI Lab. The Centre and Lab are part of the wider Brunel’s AI Ecosystem, led by Professor Braganza. In the 22/23 academic year, the Centre won £3.5 million in grants. Most recently, Professor Braganza is part of a consortium that has won a €5.8 million bid for the ELOQUENCE EU project (2024-2027). He devised and launched a Masters in AI Strategy, which is aim at training the next generation of AI leaders.
Professor Braganza’s scholarly contribution is to the field of change implementation and, specifically, leadership of strategic organisational change. His interest in the implementation of cross-functional change was sparked during his doctoral journey, and continues to inform his research projects, teaching, and consultancy assignments. His research is practice-based, demonstrated by his leadership of over numerous consultancy projects with global, public and private sector organisations. His past collaborations with senior managers in organisations exemplified by BT, Microsoft, McDonald's, Astra Zeneca, Friends Provident, Volkswagen Financial Services and the various UN agencies have co-created knowledge and practical ways of implementing complex change programmes.
The British Academy of Management elected Professor Braganza to the College of Fellows. His Fellowship recognises the substantial contribution, over twenty-five years, to the wider business and management academic community through the British Academy of Management. He joined BAM initially as a doctoral student and, since then, fulfilled a number of leadership roles. These include serving on BAM Council as an elected member, founding the Organisational Transformation, Change and Development SIG, creating the conference track and, over the years, chairing the SIG and track along with serving on the SIG committee. He has organised, led and delivered numerous BAM events.