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Sue Black
Explore digital inclusion and AI ethics with Sue Black OBE, technology evangelist and computer science professor. Sue empowers organisations to implement responsible AI practices and develop diverse tech talent through practical frameworks. Forbes Top 50 Women in Tech who founded award-winning initiatives TechUPWomen and #techmums.
Professor Sue Black OBE is a pioneering computer scientist, social entrepreneur, and internationally respected technology evangelist. With over 25 years of experience driving change at the intersection of technology, inclusion, and social impact, she has become one of the UK’s most recognisable advocates for diversity and digital empowerment.
A Professor of Computer Science at Durham University, Sue’s work focuses on ethical innovation, digital inclusion, and bias in AI. Her extraordinary personal journey—from leaving school at sixteen and becoming a single mother of three, to earning an OBE from King Charles for services to technology—has made her a symbol of resilience and social mobility.
Sue led the groundbreaking campaign to save Bletchley Park, home of the WWII codebreakers, using the power of social media to secure its future as a world-class heritage and education centre. She founded TechUPWomen, a multi-award-winning programme retraining hundreds of women from underserved communities into tech careers, and established initiatives such as BCSWomen and #techmums.
Sue helps organisations navigate technological transformation by addressing critical challenges in responsible AI implementation, digital inclusion, and workforce development. Her expertise in identifying and mitigating algorithmic bias enables companies to build more ethical tech products, while her insights on digital skills gaps help organisations create effective upskilling strategies that reach overlooked talent pools.
Audiences gain practical frameworks for implementing responsible AI practices, strategies for building truly inclusive tech teams, and actionable approaches to digital transformation that prioritise both innovation and human wellbeing. Sue's personal story of resilience provides leaders with powerful lessons in overcoming institutional barriers.
Book Sue for a rare combination of technical expertise and human storytelling that inspires meaningful action, not just awareness, on technology's most pressing challenges.
Topics, sessions and talks
Professor Sue Black explores how artificial intelligence can be shaped by human values rather than replace them. Drawing on her experience advising governments and tech leaders, she examines bias, accountability, and the ethical responsibilities that come with innovation. Through relatable stories and research-driven insight, she shows how organisations can build more inclusive, transparent systems that serve society as well as business.
Sue Black examines the barriers women continue to face in technology and how they can be dismantled. From founding initiatives that retrain women for digital careers to leading change within academia and policy, she shares hard-earned lessons from her journey. Audiences gain insight into creating environments where women thrive, leadership is diverse, and innovation reflects the whole of society.
Sue Black reveals how technology can be a force for equity and empowerment. With examples from her award-winning programmes and campaigns, she illustrates how digital access transforms lives and communities. Audiences learn how inclusive design and grassroots collaboration can unlock potential, expand opportunity, and ensure that no one is left behind in the digital revolution.
With honesty and humour, Sue Black recounts her unconventional rise from single parent to OBE and Professor of Computer Science. Her story is one of resilience, reinvention, and the power of education to change lives. Blending personal narrative with professional insight, she challenges audiences to see adversity as a catalyst for innovation and to believe in their capacity to defy expectation.
Sue Black shares the remarkable story of how a small online campaign saved Bletchley Park, the wartime home of the codebreakers. Combining historical insight with lessons in leadership and digital mobilisation, she reveals how social media, collaboration, and perseverance secured a national treasure. It’s a powerful exploration of community action, storytelling, and the human drive to protect what matters most.
Sue Black OBE transforms complex tech concepts into accessible insights, drawing on her remarkable journey from school dropout to Professor of Computer Science and Forbes Top 50 Women in Tech to help organisations implement responsible AI practices and build inclusive tech teams. Book Sue for a rare combination of technical expertise and human storytelling that inspires meaningful action on technology's most pressing challenges.
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frequently asked questions
Something we've not covered here?
To book Sue Black, email sue.black@getapeptalk.com or call PepTalk on +44 20 3835 2929 (UK) or +1 737 888 5112 (US), and one of our speaker agents will contact you within hours to confirm Sue's availability and speaking fee. If you can, please include your budget upfront – it helps us fast-track your request. It’s also helpful to know the date, format (virtual or in-person), location, and about your audience.
Professor Sue Black structures her sessions around personal narrative anchored to programme outcomes, drawing on her own trajectory from school leaver and single mother to OBE recipient alongside documented results from initiatives such as TechUPWomen and the Bletchley Park campaign. This is combined with research-driven analysis of AI bias and digital inclusion, giving audiences both a case-study framework and practical implementation strategies.
Professor Sue Black OBE speaks on the ethics and human dimensions of AI, women's progression and representation in technology, and digital inclusion and access. She holds a professorship in Computer Science at Durham University and was awarded an OBE for services to technology, having also founded TechUPWomen and led the campaign to save Bletchley Park.
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