Sam Taylor Named Digital Leaders AI Business Leader of the Year

Unilink is proud to announce that Sam Taylor has been named AI Business Leader of the Year at the Digital Leaders Awards, recognising her outstanding leadership in applying artificial intelligence to deliver real-world impact.

Selected from a highly competitive field of nominees, including CEOs of leading AI companies, the award highlights Sam’s role in driving meaningful AI transformation within the justice sector and beyond.

As Unilink’s AI Implementation Manager and AI Ambassador, Sam has been instrumental in advancing the organisation’s vision for responsible, ethical, and practical AI. Her leadership has helped position Unilink at the forefront of innovation, ensuring that artificial intelligence is applied in ways that enhance decision-making, improve operational outcomes, and deliver measurable benefits for staff, service users, and wider society.

This recognition reflects the growing importance of AI across the justice service and Unilink’s commitment to leading that transformation.

Francis Toye, CEO, added, “I am not surprised Sam was recognised through this award. Sam has brought incredible enthusiasm and energy to the role, which has enabled Unilink to gain a leading position in AI both internally and externally”.

Advancing Responsible AI in Justice

Unilink’s approach to AI is underpinned by the establishment of its AI Research Centre, led by Professor Theo Damoulas in collaboration with leading academic partners, including Warwick University. The Centre focuses on the responsible and ethical development of AI applications, ensuring solutions are transparent, explainable, and aligned with the operational realities of justice environments.

Building on more than 30 years of sector expertise, Unilink is developing AI-enabled capabilities that translate advanced research into deployable, governed solutions.

From Research to Real-World Impact

Recent innovations include Visits Sense AI, an advanced anomaly-detection capability that analyses visit-booking and attendance data to identify unusual behaviours, emerging risks, and hidden relationship networks within custodial environments.

By combining graph-based machine learning with explainable AI, VisitSense AI transforms data into actionable intelligence that supports dynamic security, strengthens safeguarding, and reduces manual analytical workload, while maintaining full human oversight.

Alongside this, AI capabilities are being embedded across Unilink’s broader platform ecosystem, including tools that support staff decision-making, operational visibility, and prisoner wellbeing.

A Collective Achievement

Commenting on the award, Sam Taylor said: “This recognition is a reflection of the incredible work being done across Unilink to apply AI in a way that is both innovative and responsible. Our focus has always been on delivering real-world impact, supporting staff, improving outcomes, and building trust in how AI is used within the justice sector.”

Looking Ahead

As justice systems continue to evolve, Unilink remains committed to developing AI that is not only powerful but also ethical, transparent, and practical, helping organisations navigate complexity while improving safety, efficiency, and rehabilitation outcomes.

Read more:
Full list of Digital Leaders Award winners: https://awards.digileaders.com/Winners