Career
He is best known to the British public for his appearances on television as an expert on robotics. Including the BBC2 television series Robot Wars and Techno Games, and co-hosting Bright Sparks for British Broadcasting Corporation Northern Ireland. He was a professor at the University of Sheffield.
Sharkey chairs "The International Committee for Robot Arms Control", an non-governmental organization that is seeking an International treaty to prohibit the development and use of autonomous robot weapons – weapons that once launched can select human targets and kill them without human intervention.
Before his retirement, Sharkey held a chair in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Sheffield. Previous to this, he was a Professor of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics and a Professor of Public Engagement.
He was supported by an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Senior Media Fellowship and a Leverhulme Fellowship of the ethics of battlefield robots. He holds a doctorate in psychology, a doctorate in science, is a chartered electrical engineer, a chartered information technology professional, a fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, a fellow of the British Computer Society, and a fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation.
Academic contributions Media Sharkey appeared as an expert on the BBC2 television series Robot Wars and Techno Games.
He co-hosted Bright Sparks, a science and engineering challenge series, for British Broadcasting Corporation Northern Ireland, and produces and presents a weekly radio show for the community radio station Sheffield Live! called The Sound of Science. Sharkey has set up and organised robot competitions for young people around the world, including the national Chinese creative robotics contest, and the national Egyptian schools Artificial Intelligence and robotics contest. Most of Sharkey"s media work is in radio, television and newspapers about issues concerned with the military use of robots.
Sharkey also had an interview on British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 4"s The Life Scientific.
Artificial Intelligence Review Connection Science Robotics and Autonomous Systems Interviews Magazine interview in New Scientist (September 1, 2009) Magazine interview in CS4FN (retrieved: 26 December 2007) Prism Magazine interview (September, 2005) American Broadcasting Company interview, transcript (25 August 2005) Yorkshire Post interview (9 March 2005) Guardian interview (15 February 2002).
