Thomas Bolander graduated as a civil engineer from DTU in 1999. He got his Ph.D. in Logic from DTU in 2004 and has been a professor of logic and artificial intelligence at DTU Compute since 2019, where he researches in artificial intelligence (AI) in the area between logic, mathematics and computer science - and he is very passionate about research and communication of his fields.
He has received DTU's award as Teacher of the Year in 2006 and written the book "What does the future look like with artificial intelligence"/”Hvordan ser fremtiden ud med kunstig intelligens” (2019). He also teaches DTU's continuing education for managers and specialists who need AI in business development. Thomas Bolander has also written a chapter in a high school mathematics book, where he draws on the latest research in AI, and he is active in the Mathematics Center, which provides free homework help to school students throughout Denmark.
For many years, Thomas Bolander has given major public lectures on AI in many contexts and forums. Folkemødet on Bornholm, Heartland Festival, Science & Cocktails, BLOOM and the Society for the Dissemination of Natural Science (Selskabet for Naturlærens Udbredelse), which in 2019 awarded him the H.C. Ørsted Medal in silver for outstanding communication.
On Forskerzonen.dk, he writes texts, makes podcasts and videos, and he is or has been part of a number of central commissions on the use of AI in Denmark. Most recently, he has joined the Government's expert group on tech giants, and he has served on the SIRI Commission, the TechDK Commission (DJØF), the Tiger Council (Danish Chamber of Commerce) and the Leaders' Digital Think Tank (Ledernes Hovedorganisation).
His ability to engage his audience is legendary, and he knows how to create an exciting and constructive dialogue with his audience – e.g. when he plays a piece of music composed in the Baroque and a piece composed by a robot who has learned something about the rules of Baroque music, and then asks the audience to vote what is real and what is not. It gives rise to cheerful episodes when many guess incorrectly, but afterwards begin to understand what a robot can and cannot do.
Thomas Bolander’s communication efforts provide a new approach to a field like mathematics, while at the same time providing a much better understanding of the societal importance of artificial intelligence and a good background for a lively debate among politicians and citizens about the right way forward with technological development. In total, there have been more than 100 public lectures or debates in the last 5 years, and he has been Head of Studies at Copenhagen University Extension for 4 years (2009-2013).
At the same time, he continues an active scientific career with a great teaching effort and many international appearances at conferences. His ability to cut across disciplines is also evident both scientifically and in his communication. He has strong collaborations and has created a new branch of research in AI, epistemic planning, which is about getting AI systems to take other actors into account in their planning and thereby achieve social intelligence.
In his communication, he is uniquely able to present both the technical and the ethical aspects of artificial intelligence and thus create the basis for a meaningful debate among many different actors - politicians, business people and citizens. This makes his communication particularly relevant for all age groups and many professions.
