Neil David Lawrence is the DeepMind Professor of Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge in the Department of Computer Science and Technology,[2] senior AI fellow at the Alan Turing Institute and visiting professor at the University of Sheffield.

[3] Lawrence obtained a Bachelors in Engineering degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Southampton, and a PhD from the University of Cambridge, with a thesis on variational inference in probabilistic models, supervised by Christopher Bishop.

[6] Upon his appointment as the inaugural DeepMind Professor Machine Learning at the University of Cambridge in September 2019, Ann Copestake stated Lawrence's addition would have a "transformative effect".

[7] Lawrence has advocated for data transparency and privacy, writing several prominent articles in The Guardian discussing issues ranging from the privacy implications of Machine Learning algorithms deployed on citizens,[8][9][10][11][12][excessive citations] the current "state of the art" in the field,[13] the importance of data-sharing[14][15] and academic transparency,[16] to the possibilities for Machine Learning to advance developing nations such as African nations.

[18] More recently he has been solicited for his opinion on the absence of Machine Learning algorithms during the COVID-19 pandemic, to which he stated