Michael Bronstein - Mathematical Foundations of AI Conference 2026

Michael Bronstein | Mathematical Foundations of Artificial Intelligence Why does modern artificial intelligence work so well, and why do we still understand so little about its underlying principles? Michael Bronstein, DeepMind Professor of Artificial Intelligence at the University of Oxford and Director of the Erlangen AI Hub, explores the importance of mathematics in understanding modern machine learning. A pioneer of geometric deep learning, Bronstein investigates how geometry, symmetry and mathematical structure can help explain the behaviour of neural networks. His research draws on ideas from Felix Klein's Erlangen Programme, which transformed nineteenth-century geometry by identifying the properties preserved under different transformations. These ideas offer a route towards artificial intelligence systems whose capabilities, limitations and behaviour can be understood more rigorously, rather than relying principally on empirical performance. This talk was recorded at the Mathematical Foundations of AI Conference 2026, organised by the Erlangen AI Hub at the University of Oxford, 1–3 September 2026. Find out more: https://erlangenhub.ox.ac.uk/ #ArtificialIntelligence #GeometricDeepLearning #Mathematics #ErlangenAIHub