We offer open and participatory events that showcase interdisciplinary work and impact and spark ideas, inspiration and debate.
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The use of science and technology to optimise the output of workers for the profit of business is not a new phenomenon. For this session we welcome two sociologists who work on the quantification of the body and worker, Dr Mark Patterson, and Dr Karen Gregory. Dr Patterson will explore the history of measurement of the ... Read more
Prediction of the impacts of climate change is one of the most urgent challenges facing humanity, crucial tools that will support policy, business and civil society in planning mitigations - everything from the pricing of insurance to building community resilience and the speed of decarbonisation. Just as in the work done to demonstrate human impacts ... Read more
Join MusAI and The New Real to delve into the intriguing intersection of artificial intelligence and music copyright.
2023 was undoubtedly the year of 'AI' - when we were all amazed by the capabilities of ChatGTP and image generators, and stories of existential risks filled the media. This narrative seemed to be pushed by the very people who had invested most in developing Large Language Models, and were interlinked with the ideology of ... Read more
As our society has become increasingly dependent on information infrastructures that reach into our pockets, homes and workplaces, we have become increasing vulnerable to attacks on and through these systems. How can we improve legal, technical and human dimensions of design and use to ensure future protection and resilience?
Join the Centre for Data, Culture & Society and the Social Data Science Hub for a Project Deep Dive presented by Anja Neundorf, professor of Politics and Research Methods at the University of Glasgow.
Join us for a day of creative discussion with other makers of multi-disciplinary and music driven performance to identify how we overcome barriers and envision a future together.
Ensuring the safety of our information infrastructures is a huge challenge that involves human, legal, and technical cooperation at a global scale. The rise of new technology, especially AI, poses great challenges for the development of effective law and regulation. In this session we have a perspective from law and social science from the University ... Read more
The CDCS Project Deep Dive series continues with ‘Digitization for Social Welfare: Examining the Building and Other Construction Workers' (BOCW) Welfare Funds in India’ presented by Dr Sruthi Herbert.
Join us for a live-stream of this conversation hosted by Professor Liz Grant and Dr Katherine Trebeck, University of Edinburgh.
This workshop organised by The Binks Hub will help you use poetry to communicate your research.
This event asks how people politically mobilise when subject to data systems that algorithmically govern them but remain opaque.
This event marks the launch of Tech Tuesdays, a new series dedicated to making sense of technology within the tourism, travel, and hospitality industries.
Join the Centre for Data, Culture & Society for a Project Deep Dive presented by Sal Hagen, University of Amsterdam.
The Technomoral Conversations series brings together leading experts in a “fireside chat” format to discuss futures that are worth wanting.
In her book Richie evaluates medical reproduction from an environmental perspective & confronts the carbon impact of the healthcare industry.
In the seminar, Ben Collier will introduce the new book, Tor: From the Dark Web to the Future of Privacy (MIT Press, 2024).
ChatGPT and the other new advances in artificial intelligence have the potential to change work, education, and even what it means to “think” in the first place. In this talk, Professor David Williamson Shaffer looks at what AI is (and isn’t), its impact on what and how we learn, and how AI can change what ... Read more
To what extent can human creators exercise control on the technological tools they are using? And how does the control that technology exerts on them influence the creative process?
This event is specifically designed for professionals within the hospitality and tourism sector who are eager to explore what value robotics can bring to their businesses.
Dr Petko Kalev discusses why resiliency is an important dimension of market liquidity. For University staff and students only.
Hear a project deep dive from Ursula Martin on Imagining AI: computing stories in a museum context.
Enjoy a guided tour to mark the opening of the Edinburgh Futures Institute building.
What role should the public have in shaping Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Should the public have a voice in how AI is being developed and used, and how it’s governed and regulated? And how might a diverse cross section of the public be involved in the decisions made by big tech, regulatory bodies, and local and national government?
Making Waves is an exciting programme of events that explores creativity in different forms, crossing areas such as the arts, technology, science, and the environment..
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Our Autumn 2024 programme of events explored the future of education through panel discussions, poetry readings, live music and performance, and deep intellectual debate and discussion.
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Our Autumn 2023 programme of events explored leadership in all its forms – from the seats of power to the front lines of activist movements and even in our own workplaces.
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Our Spring 2023 programme of events explored the interconnections of AI and data with humanity through conversations, performances, and workshops.
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Our Autumn 2022 programme featured more than 20 events exploring crisis, migration, displacement and equality coalescing around the theme of Climate Justice.
Watch recordings"The production and intellectual content of your recent events has been fantastic! Thank you for the opportunity to attend and learn. This is probably the best event I have been to all year."
Event attendee, Love Machine Spring 2023
"Really, really impressed with Futures Institute events. Properly impressive speakers, and seamless technical management. Thank you for keeping them hybrid/online – it's a really nice way to keep in touch!"
Event attendee, Love Machine Spring 2023
"Amazing! I hope that Utopia Lab can ring in every event season, the dream space that you curate and allow to flourish is an important and novel lens that Edinburgh Futures Institute offers partners, students, staff, researchers and anyone with an interest in collaborative thinking and doing."
Event attendee, Love Machine Spring 2023
Our public events seasons are co-created with people from across the University of Edinburgh. If you'd like to contribute ideas for the programme please contact the events team.
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Email: efi@ed.ac.uk
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