Professor Benjamin Rosman, an alumnus of the Institute of Perception, Action and Behaviour (IPAB) at the School of Informatics, has been named in TIME Magazine’s 2025 list of the 100 Most Influential People in AI. Rosman completed his PhD in 2014 under the supervision of Professor Ram Ramamoorthy. TIME’s annual TIME100 AI list highlights individuals shaping the future of artificial intelligence across research, industry, policy, and the arts. This year’s edition reflects the growing global competition for AI talent, likening the recruitment of top researchers to professional sports free agency. The list includes leaders from OpenAI, Meta, xAI, and government bodies, alongside pioneering academics and artists. Rosman is currently a professor of computer science and applied mathematics at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa. He is the founding director of the Machine Intelligence and Neural Discovery (MIND) Institute, an interdisciplinary hub that brings together AI researchers, neuroanatomists, philosophers, and policy experts to tackle fundamental questions in intelligence. He is also co-founder of the Deep Learning Indaba, an annual gathering for Africa’s AI community, and Lelapa AI, a company developing AI technologies for African languages. TIME notes Rosman’s commitment to reframing Africa’s role in AI, quoting him as saying: “It’s like, screw you,” he says. “What’s the unique American angle on AI?” Rosman’s vision for the MIND Institute is to establish Africa as an intellectual hub in AI research, supported by funding from IBM and Google. He hopes the institute will inspire similar initiatives across the continent. We need to crazy-idea our way out of problems. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with stuff developed elsewhere, but if Africa’s not involved in the conversation, we’ve got problems. Professor Benjamin Rosman Professor in the School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa Professor Subramanian Ramamoorthy, who supervised Rosman during his time at IPAB, told us how this recognition is a proud moment for the School of Informatics and a testament to the global impact of its alumni. It is really satisfying to see how Benjamin and others around him have developed the AI African ecosystem, and I eagerly look forward to hearing about their continued success. Professor Subramanian Ramamoorthy Personal Chair of Robot Learning and Autonomy in the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh Related links Benjamin Rosman: The 100 Most Influential People in AI – TIME Magazine Publication date 11 Sep, 2025
