Craig Watkins

Dr. S. Craig Watkins is the Ernest A. Sharpe Centennial Professor and Executive Director of the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. At IC2, Craig leads a portfolio of research that probes the rapidly evolving role of artificial intelligence in healthcare. This work includes a collaboration with the Dell Medical School (UT Austin) to explore how the use of AI impacts the clinical reasoning of clinicians; ethical and responsible uses of AI in healthcare; and the experimentation with the deployment of AI agents in clinical environments. The portfolio aims to generate knowledge and insights related to AI safety, AI-induced re-skilling, AI’s impact on health outcomes, and effective governance of AI systems. Craig serves on numerous advisories including a Generative AI advisory group for Google, the Pew Research Center, and Google/DeepMind. He was also an advisor to a Health Advisory Report prepared by the American Psychological Association titled, “Artificial Intelligence and Adolescent Well-Being.” His research has been funded by the MacArthur Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Transportation, Dell Medical School, and UT Austin’s technology commercialization office.