26.02.2026
SAINTS at the Safety-Critical Systems Symposium SSS’26
The Safety-Critical Systems Club (SCSC), a global professional network for sharing knowledge about safety-critical systems, organises the Safety-Critical Systems Symposium (SSS) every year. The symposium includes keynote presentations, invited talks, talks selected by abstract submission, an exhibition, a poster session, workshops and tutorials, an evening banquet, entertainment, “armchair chats,” and social events.
SAINTS CDT researchers Suemaiya Zaman, Shaun Feakins, and Paul Powers attended the 34th Safety-Critical Systems Symposium (SSS’26), held once again in York. The annual symposium brought together safety engineers, researchers, and industry practitioners to explore the latest developments in safety-critical systems engineering, assurance, and governance.
Across parallel streams, the programme covered emerging approaches to assurance, specialist workshops, technical papers, and keynote presentations, with a strong focus this year on the growing role of artificial intelligence and autonomy in safety-critical domains.
Keynote highlights included Professor Harold Thimbleby (Swansea University), who challenged the UK legal presumption that computer evidence is inherently reliable, and Professor Phil Koopman (Carnegie Mellon University), who delivered a compelling closing address on embodied AI safety. Koopman argued that effective AI safety requires literacy across system safety, cybersecurity, machine learning, and human factors, rather than deep expertise in just one area.
Several sessions explored the use of large language models (LLMs) in safety-critical contexts, including their potential role in safety concept development, patient safety governance in healthcare, and predictive accident prevention. Contributors consistently stressed the importance of structured workflows, human oversight, and meaningful evaluation criteria.
During the symposium, Shaun Feakins presented his paper on upstream versus downstream assurance for general-purpose AI systems in safety-critical settings, exploring how safety science must adapt to closed-source models, rapid capability shifts, and complex socio-technical deployment contexts.
Suemaiya also presented a “five-minute pitch” titled, “A Novel Hazard Analysis Method in Modular Element Development for Dynamic Systems of Systems.”
SSS’26 provided a valuable opportunity for SAINTS CDT researchers to engage with leading experts in safety-critical systems and to connect their doctoral research with the wider industrial and regulatory landscape shaping the safe development of increasingly autonomous systems.
