Conway Hall: Where Ethics Matter

When most of us hear the word “genome” we think of human DNA, the material that was long seen as the blueprint of human health and disease. Today, we know that there are many more factors than our DNA that make us who we are, including our lifestyles, our emotions, our environments.

But there is another element that, as recent science shows, has a huge impact on us: micro-organisms. Trillions of microbes, bacteria and fungi inhabit our bodies, help to digest our food, keep us healthy, or make us sick. In fact only 10 percent of the cells in our bodies and one percent of our genes are human! This event will explore how recent advances in the science of microbes change our understanding of health and disease, and give a revolutionary approach to losing weight and staying slim.

*Apologies for the sound quality in the room we recorded this in*

How do we work together so that there is understanding between our communities and what common values can we identify that will create cohesion?

A GlobalNet21 meeting at Conway Hall in collaboration with The Ethical Society.

The threat of global terrorism has been growing and Governments and the Media have sometimes linked this to the growth of Islamic extremism. This meeting discussed many issues including:

• What are the root causes of terrorism and how does Islam fit into that picture?

• What are the contributing factors especially external ones?

• And what is the position of Islam on war and peace and is the overwhelming message of Islam one of peace?

• What are the Ethical issues here concerning how communities can work together and understand each other better

What Could Sentient Machines Mean for Humanity?

For decades, we've imagined the rise of computer-based life forms, super-intelligences whose intellects could far surpass our own and trigger a new phase in non-human evolution.

Could these visions become real, and why do they have such a grip on our imaginations? How has culture informed AI research? Should we be more worried about sentient machines, or the dumb algorithms and data integration being worked on today? Do we still have privacy under the dead, uncaring gaze of a machine intelligence? What does humanism mean to an artificial intelligence anyway?

Science writer, broadcaster and geneticist Dr Adam Rutherford will chair a panel of human intelligences at this talk, including leading roboticist Professor Alan Winfield, Dr Kathleen Richardson and Dr Blay Whitby.

Professor Alan Winfield is Director of the Science Communication Unit at UWE Bristol. Dr Kathleen Richardson is Senior Research Fellow in the Ethics of Robotics at De Montfort University. Dr Blay Whitby is a philosopher and technology ethicist, specialising in computer science, artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sussex.

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Join Brian Cox as he talks with Adam Rutherford about bull semen, the importance of getting people engaged with science and why the UK needs to aspire to be the best place for science in the world.

Particle physicist, retired rock star and star of the BBC’s Wonders of the Solar System, Brian Cox is the Royal Society’s Professor for Public Engagement in Science at Manchester University.

Adam Rutherford is an author, broadcaster, film-buff and all-round geek. He holds a PhD in genetics from UCL.

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Richard Dawkins and Lawrence Krauss Q&A session after a screening of the Unbelievers (http://www.unbelieversmovie.com/). Recorded at Conway Hall, London. 23rd October 2014

Peter Singer shows how living altruistically often leads to greater personal fulfillment than living for oneself.

His most recent book is, The Most Good You Can Do, which helps to develop the challenges Singer has made to those who donate to the arts, and to charities focused on helping our fellow citizens, rather than those for whom we can do the most good. Effective altruists are extending our knowledge of the possibilities of living less selfishly, and of allowing reason, rather than emotion, to determine how we live.

In conversation with Nick Cohen, Srdja Popovic will explain how he became one of the leaders of Otpor! — the movement which overthrew dictator Slobodan Milosevic. He has since gone on to train the pro-democracy activists behind the Arab Spring, Occupy, and many other movements.

Part of our "London Thinks" series.

Drawing on his new book, Blueprint for Revolution, he will tell the stories of ‘ordinary revolutionaries’ he has been inspired by along the way, many of whom have created social change by avoiding violence and opting for something far more powerful: a sense of humour.

Where did it come from, and how far can it go in the general election? Part of the "London Thinks" discussion series.

Recorded at Conway Hall: Thursday 19th March 2015

An evening with Nate Phelps (son of the late Fred Phelps, founder and patriarch of the Westboro Baptist Church – “the most hated family in America”), in an incredibly moving talk on the Westboro Baptist Church, his childhood he spent growing up in, and how he came to leave his family behind at the stroke of midnight on his 18th birthday. Part of "London Thinks" at Conway Hall.

Are religious doctrines destined for the bin? Does a wholly secular scientific society miss out on a sense of spirituality and pastoral care? Is the Interstellar film as bad as everyone makes out? These and other questions were discussed in a very special evening at "London Thinks" discussions.