James leads the Futures and Emerging Technologies team within the Department for Transport, within the unit headed by the Chief Scientific Adviser. James’ team look ahead to understand technology trends as they come across the horizon, work to understand what they may mean for DfT’s mission and then help colleagues across the business build this insight into their work. Activities include risks and opportunities analysis, triggering R&D and setting strategy both for the department and the sector. Current areas of technical focus include AI, quantum, digital connectivity and position navigation and timing technologies, with new work planned on robots and smart infrastructure.