I was delighted to be the keynote for this amazing, first event, bringing together all of our college partners to talk about the latest innovations in science and technology. We focused a lot on artifcial intelligence and immersive technologies.
It was a pleasure to speak at the Brilliant Festival in Liverpool, where we got into all the ways in which technology is fostering new skills within education. This new event is likely to develop a major legacy for the region, so well worth a follow.
I was delighted to give the keynote at this year’s Luxembourg National Research Fund science communication conference, speaking about artificial intelligence and immersive worlds. Such a fantastic community with some incredible work. Find more about them here
The movie Oppenheimer was a fantastic insight into the complexity of pursuing science in the expectation that it will be used for good by humanity. Take a look at this review for the Times Higher Education
Here is the pre-edited verison:
The movie Oppenheimer depicts its protagonist with a classic narrative about the scientist’s vocation; the relentless pursuit of a world-changing idea, which begins as a nucleus of thought, developing into an all-consuming, compelling, and noble mission.
Admittedly, there are elements of this that are more complicated when the science leads to the creation of a bomb, but leaving that aside for a moment, what academic wouldn’t wish for their niche, fringe beliefs about how the world really works to gradually, but surely, inspire students to join seminars, peers to defer to their intellect, and heads of state to recognise the importance of their work in forms of national decorations, where each of these symbolises the broad public good that is derived from what they do by, predominantly, just thinking?
Oppenheimer is a story about being heard and being acknowledged for the most intimate facet of our humanity - the merit of our ideas and our ability to demonstrate their worth. The film inspired me to think about what and how I teach. Do each of my lectures or seminars present ideas that will confront students with new ways of thinking about the world, to challenge their assumptions and confront them with difficult, sometimes uncomfortable ideas? Do I go into every classroom and prioritise challenging the views of my students and bringing out the best of their views, cognisant of the fact that this opportunity for interaction is also the place where my own views can be remade and improved by theirs? Does the curriculum I have written prioritise this form of thinking and demonstration of intellectual achievement? The film also made me think about the function of teaching in the pursuit of knowledge, at a time where we seem often to be struggling with the division between teaching and research.
What we don’t see of Oppenheimer is the endless administrative tasks that now fall upon most academics, dealing with student wellbeing, progression rates, and any number of tasks which take the academic away from their core, unique capability, which must surely be to lead the development of new intellectual traditions through inquiry born out of scholarship, research, and teaching. While those forms of welfare are in the service of inclusive and supportive learning experiences, they can easily overwhelm the kind of singular conviction that we see as necessary in Oppenheimer’s pursuit of a complex problem, free from the burden of distraction, other than to wrangle with the crucial consideration as to whether our work is, indeed, good for humanity or not.
From what I have observed, very few scholars have the kind of academic life that is depicted by Oppenheimer’s journey through academia, in terms of that vocational conviction. Very few are able to maintain - or even to establish - a core sense of purpose about their pursuit of a subject or an idea and for this to sustain their entire career. While I have known researchers who are in pursuit of the answer to one question, that question is elusive for most. The singularity of purpose that was depicted of Oppenheimer - or who we often depict as being the most accomplished minds - is a rare presence in the academic community, but is it desirable that all should experience or pursue this kind of career?
To its credit, Oppenheimer did well at showing how he approached progress as a matter of collegial collaboration, encouraging others to pursue their ideas, even when he could not see their merit. Oppenheimer was portrayed as quite self-effacing at times, noting his own incompetence at experimental physics and demonstrating clear value at the need for both theory and experimentation. This helps to dispel the idea that genius is best understood as the work of an individual, working alone with their thoughts.
Back to the bomb
The uncomfortable tension amidst all of this inspirational discovery is the application of Oppenheimer’s science to what became the most destructive discovery humanity has ever created through its pursuit of knowledge. The bomb wasn’t just any bomb, but was an idea that could set the world on fire, to paraphrase the film.
It’s not an unfamiliar tension in an intellectual’s life to grapple with how their passion for the pursuit of knowledge might, later, be applied to grotesque situations and a vast amount of experimental research will find itself in this position, even if the separation between the science and the situation is significant. While not every academic’s work could be quite as destructive, the creation of new ideas, methods, or insights, is often a disruptive force with unexpected and undesirable consequences, whether these are realised immediately or over a longer period.
Oppenheimer did not enjoy the benefit of this separation; there was no cognitive dissonance possible, even though he convinced himself that realising the method would be enough to dissuade the world from the pursuit of creating the weapon. The film describes this as naivety and may be a forgivable assumption, when faced also with the prospect of other nations seeking to do the same and who are perceived to lack any such moral compass.
However, the error that the movie invites us to consider is Oppenheimer's belief that the USA were the good guys, the trusted nation, who would deploy the bomb for justifiable means or use it to deter others from its pursuit,
In the end, the film depicts a catastrophic failure in understanding what global peace diplomacy requires, but also fails to reveal that, in fact, we don’t really know what it requires - especially when the ‘we’ is the academic, who remains blissfully absent from the political sphere. And this is the problem. In the absence of a better idea, or even expert political judgement, the best available approach taken by even capable and established democracies is to stay ahead of one’s enemies and it’s a conclusion that many nations, in many ways, pursue through their entire investment in science and technology.
Perhaps the greatest wisdom found in Oppenheimer is that the mindless pursuit of STEM for their own sake, without attention to how intellectual journeys must be forged via critical moral and social insights, puts the world in a persistent state of tension. If we look at our learning curriculum today within our most advanced science and technology subjects, we see a gaping hole in this component of the learning process. How many courses on artificial intelligence have space in the curriculum for ethical debate? This needs urgent and immediate rebalancing to ensure our intellectual institutions protect and service the pursuit of intellectual endeavour for human prosperity, rather than its further demise.
Fantastic visiting Oxford University to speak about innovative practices in science communication, harnessing the potential of digital to engage people differently.
Very pleased to Chair a panel at the SEG3 conference in London, focused on the metaverse.
Panel: The Road to an Interoperable Metaverse
Thursday, June 29
An open metaverse is the long term goal of many within the space, but what would this look like, and how can it be achieved? This session will explore:
The technological framework that needs to be in place to support the vision
The timelines to achieving an open metaverse
The role of blockchain
The role of universal game development standards
Ownership of digital assets in web2 and web3 environments
The impact of interoperability on consumers and enterprise
Very pleased to be featured in this new podcast presented by by Ghislaine Boddington. Here’s the overview and links
Are you planning a summer holiday? Maybe you will have some time to relax on a lounger listening to the near future narratives I am presenting in the Fast Forward Season 2 podcast!
Join me as we explore the transformative shifts that emerging technologies are bringing to our bodies, minds and behaviours. This international series features engaging conversations with global experts, unlocking future visions. From avatars to women in gaming, to technology's impact on family dynamics, Fast Forward Season 2 covers it all.
The first 3 episodes are available:
Ep. 1 - "The Metaverse Blend - hyper-enhancing our hybrid future": Explore the I and the We of our new virtual realms, from the creation of individualised avatars that shape our virtual identities/self-expression by Michaela Larosse (The Fabricant) to how we can/will participate in groups with Professor Andy Miah, Chair of Science Communication & Future Media at The University of Salford explaining the advanced methods in e-sports.
Ep. 2 - "Women in Gaming - empowerment leads to engagement": Dive into the history of gender representation in the gaming industry, witness the inspiring transformations happening today. With life stories from Ghada Almoqbel, CEO of GCON, and Jennifer Donahoe Donahue, Head of Publishing & Marketing at HiDef, Inc.
Ep. 3 - "Telegram to Telepresence - is the family being swept away on a digital tidal wave?" Explore the concerns surrounding data transmission within our homes and its impact on parental care. And what happens when digital touch is also an option? Guests: Sonia Livingstone, Prof. of Social Psychology at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Sly Spencer-Lee, Co-Founder/Co-CEO at Emerge®.
And there's more - here's what's coming up:
Ep. 4 - "Extended self - our future digital twins": Uncover the transformative power of personalised body data and the boundless possibilities it offers. What about the lack of diversity of the data available? Guests: Michael D. Geer, Co-Founder of Humanity Inc. and Marija Butkovic, Founder of Women of Wearables (wearables, health tech & femtech).
Ep. 5 - "Cyborg Shifts – embedding technologies into our bodies": Discover groundbreaking advancements in cyborg technology, as prostheses and implants converge, creating opportunities for shifts towards cyborg existences. Guests: Dani Clode, University of Cambridge and trans-species artist Neil Harbisson.
Ep. 6 - "STEM Women are changing the world": Gain insights into women in tech activism and networks, inspiring the next generation of STEM leaders. Hear the experiences of younger women in STEM. Guests: Patricia Peck Pinheiro, PhD, CEO/Founding Partner of Peck Advogados and Dr A-Marie I., CEO of Stemettes.
Listen to explore how these emerging technologies will shape our lives and the world around us!
Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eBSjbNbn
Apple: https://lnkd.in/ePPUbAWZ
For new episodes, hit subscribe. If you like the series, rate and review it.
There's a huge amount of talk about the metaverse, but if you're new to this world and wondering what it's all about, then where can you begin?
I've dropped content from a few metaverse worlds into this video, but I'm particularly excited to include footage from a recent PixelMax experience.
I'm really excited to be working with PixelMax and we'll be sharing more about projects we have in the pipeline later, bringing together Salford University and MediaCityUK. In the mean time, if you're a developer wanting to work with their SDK, then you can head over to here for registration.
https://pixelmax.com/products/sdk
If you'd just like to play around and see what's coming around the corner in the PixelMax store soon, then take a look at the demo site: https://pixelmax.com/demo
I was delighted to be the host of the Global Esports Summit, which took place again this year in London.
You can take a look at all the exciting sessions that took place.
Discover more on esports here.
This week, I discovered that an article I published for the Times Higher Education made it into their top 15 articles of 2022. My contribution focuses on the future of knowledge, following 30 years of investment into the STEM disciplines. Here’s the article
and here’s a video piece which speaks to the main thesis:
Some thoughts ahead of #HostCity2022 next week.
"COVID has brought about a step change in audience expectations, which must be seen in the context of a longer history of making our live and remote experiences increasingly immersive, flexible, and technologically enabled. The Web2 era nurtured this desire and COVID embedded the expectation, readying us for web3.
For sure, the error we make is concluding that this is a move away from the importance of physical space as a crucial component of a compelling experience, but what's changing is the capacity to level up the physical world with immersive integrations which have been prototyped during COVID. Audiences expect to be more active and the data driven event economy finds a crucial extension through volumetric and locative audience data.
The future of the elite event experience is phygital - e.g watching digital content layered over a physical swimming pool and seeing the projection of Olympic swimmers live into the space, as it happens, or the transition of triathlons into arena based virtual worlds, or running in your gym alongside athletes as they compete. These are our clues which shed light onto the future and it's as big a shift as was the design of the amphitheatre in ancient Greece.
In this context, rights holders need to massively rethink what they do and what they are in relation to their audience. Simply staging something isn't enough anymore. The Olympic Channel is a great example of how institutions are experimenting to find their feet in a world where the media proposition around events is vastly different. The MVP in this future is to wrangle the innovation community that can remake events for a vastly different set of audience expectations."
Join us for Host City in Glasgow next week!
On 16th November, we’re hosting an event for the AHRC Being Human Festival, giving people a chance to step into the metaverse and explore the world in virtual reality.
“If you liked what you heard at NSL, then follow these accounts to get involved.” Prof @andymiah
I’m really pleased to have published an article in the print and online version of the Times Higher Education, inquiring into the relevance of the STEM acronym, 30 years after it was coined. I’ve worked across many subjects and taught in science and art schools.
What I’ve learned is that the divisions between subjects leave us absent of the kind of holistic world view we need to take us to a future we can really embrace as being the best of humanity. This article discusses the loss that has ensued from a STEMinist mentality in our knowledge systems, while also considering that the underlying vision has led to an impoverished appreciation for what it could have been and meant. Even within the natural sciences, divisions between subjects are rigid in the main part, as researchers are pushed into ever greater competition for resources and this works to our detriment.
Here’s the LINK to the article.
Last month, I was delighted to speak at the cyborg conference, led by Profs Monika Michałowska, Steve Fuller and Veronika Lipinska. The proceedings are now published and free to download and it’s a wonderful insight into what’s been happening in cyborg theory over the last 20 years. Take a look and update your ideas about what the cyborg is in our present times
Download the full proceedings HERE.
And here is MY CHAPTER
The Beijing 2022 Games take place this month and you can catch all of my content over at Culture @ the Olympics with summaries on this dedicated page .
Over the COP26 fortnight, I hosted A LOT of online live sessions for the University of Salford. We brought expertise from around the university
I was absolutely honoured to host a series of conversations during the world’s first Climate Exp0, an event orgnanized through the COP26 Universities Network. I was even more proud to co-host it with Anna-Maria White, a student in Salford University’s Wildlife and Practical Conservation programme.
We’ve been working on a few more COP26 related projects, which I’ll post about soon, but here’s a glimpse into what happened. find out more at this dedicated page.
Delighted to be interviewed by Fortune magazine writer Jonathan Vanian on what Clubhouse means for our future in social media. Audio communities are doing incredibly well at the moment, signalling a desire for retreating from video into the less intense, more intimate space of sound. The full article is behind a pay wall, but here’s the link.
Unfortunately, I was not able to go to Tokyo, due to covid, but this didn’t stop me making a heap of content about what took place. Find all of it over at my Tokyo 2020 page.