Jon Oberlander helped process the data that created the Harmonium Project for the opening of the 2015 Edinburgh International Festival

Tributes have been paid to one of the world’s foremost authorities on computer science and artificial intelligence following his sudden death, aged 55.

Jon Oberlander was assistant principal for data technology at the University of Edinburgh, where his interest was enabling computers to talk or write.

He had been driving forward the Bayes Centre as a hothouse for data technology, nurturing ideas and enabling the university to interact with businesses and organisations all over the world.

He was involved in the Edinburgh International Science festival to such an extent, said Simon Gage, its director, that whenever the organisers had a problem, “the answer was ‘ring Jon’”.

Professor Oberlander also played a vital role in processing the data behind the Harmonium Project, the sound and light