RSA Events

AI is changing the way we learn, work and live. It is also changing the way we have viewed education, careers and success. Now the question is being asked, how do we prepare for a future we cannot yet predict?

In this Between the Lines conversation, economist and author Daniel Susskind will reveal his guide for how the next generation can flourish in the age of AI. Drawing on his 15 years of research into technology and the future of work, Susskind offers a bold, practical and hopeful perspective on some of the biggest questions facing families today: what should we teach, what should we leave in the past, and how can we give the next generation the confidence to navigate a rapidly changing world?

Rather than keeping young people away from the technology changing the world around them, in his latest book Susskind asks how we can help young people master new tools while holding on to the foundations that matter most – literacy, numeracy and critical thinking.

Susskind will join us for an evening of discussion with Katie Prescott, technology business editor at The Times, about the ideas behind his new book, What Should My Children Do?, and will offer an optimistic vision of how families, caregivers, and society can turn the disruption of AI into an opportunity.

Speaker: Daniel Susskind, Economist and Author

Chair: Katie Prescott, Technology Business Editor at The Times

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Ever since Margaret Thatcher’s declaration of TINA (There Is No Alternative) in 1980, virtually all policy proposals to fix society’s grave problems work within the dominant framework of growth-based consumer capitalism.

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Bestselling author Lee Child joins award-winning writer Dreda Say Mitchell MBE for a live conversation at The Royal Society of Arts on the 8th of June. Together, they will explore the power of reading to shape and enrich lives and unlock opportunity for all. They will discuss what authors, institutions, and readers need to do to ensure reading remains central to culture, creativity, and human connection.

From Child’s global success with the Jack Reacher series to Mitchell’s work championing literacy and prison reading initiatives, this event examines how books can transform individuals and communities.

The discussion will be opened by Karen Napier, Reading Agency CEO, and spotlight the role of accessible publishing, including Quick Reads, in tackling barriers to reading in an age of declining attention and growing inequality.

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At a time when democracies seem paralyzed by fear and populations are turning inward, award-winning journalist John Kampfner has travelled to ten countries confronting our shared challenges with bravery and imagination. 

From Japan’s inter-generational care system to Moroccan solar panels in the Sahara creating clean energy, John Kampfner’s new book Braver New World explores how countries across the globe are solving the most pressing problems. 

To discuss the finding in his book, John will join us at the Royal Society of Arts for a conversation with The Observer Editor-in-Chief, James Harding, and former UK Foreign Secretary, David Miliband. 

Join us for an evening of ideas and discussion on how we can learn from others to build a better society.  

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We like to think the future is open. That our lives are shaped by choices, chance, and a bit of luck.

But increasingly, the future is being predicted, and those predictions are starting to decide things in advance. Whether we get a job, a loan, medical treatment, or even how we’re policed, many of life’s possibilities are now filtered through forecasts about who we are and what we might do next.

In this provocative conversation, Oxford philosopher Carissa Véliz argues that prediction has always been less about seeing the future than about controlling it. From ancient oracles to modern data systems, prophecies don’t just describe what will happen – they shape behaviour, narrow our options, and quietly distribute power.

Joining her is Roger McNamee, tech investor and NYT bestselling author of Zucked, who has spent years exposing how digital platforms turn prediction into influence.

Together, they explore a deeper, more uncomfortable question:

What happens when the future arrives pre-decided?

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In the three short years since the release of ChatGPT, AI chatbots have reshaped how millions of people live. But while the technology’s economic and political consequences are widely debated, its social and psychological impacts are only just beginning to come into focus.

Mental health is emerging as one of the most pressing – and troubling – frontiers. According to OpenAI’s own data from October 2025, as many as 560,000 users a week were showing “possible signs of mental health emergencies related to psychosis or mania” in their interactions with its systems. Clinicians, researchers, and journalists are now documenting cases in which vulnerable users form intense, and sometimes harmful, relationships with AI tools.

Join The Observer’s Technology Reporter Patricia Clarke, neuropsychiatrist at King’s College London Dr Thomas Pollak and Head of Research & Policy at Internet Matters Katie Freeman-Tayler for a live conversation based on reporting produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network.

The panel will be discussing how AI is rewiring our emotional lives and answering questions on what risk and responsibilities come with technologies that can mimic empathy? What obligations do tech firms, regulators and governments face? And what lessons can be drawn from the slow reckoning with social media’s toll on mental health – especially among children and young people?

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In collaboration with: 

The Observer 

The Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network.

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The Creative Industries are critical to the UK government’s growth plans. To realise the potential, action is needed across education, skills and the creative workforce.

This event sees the unveiling of findings from a major new study looking at skills provision across all sectors of the creative industries from museums and music, to publishing and performing arts. Representatives from across the creative industries will discuss the findings and analyse what they mean for the future of creative education, skills and workforce planning.

Download the reports: https://pec.ac.uk/research_report_entr/creative-industries-skills-audits/

This event is presented by the Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (funded by the AHRC) in partnership with Work Advance, and the Royal Society of Arts.

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Acclaimed royal biographer Robert Hardman takes to the stage at the Royal Society of Arts for an intellectually curious evening exploring the life and legacy of Queen Elizabeth II.

Marking the centenary of her birth, Hardman draws on unrivalled access to offer a subtle, revealing portrait of the woman behind the crown, guided by insights from his new book, ELIZABETH II.

The conversation will reflect on the Queen’s formative years, her leadership across the century she reigned, and her distinctive bond with the RSA – where she served as President, Patron, and a quiet but influential presence.

Blending historical insight with behind-the-scenes revelation, this event provides a thoughtful reflection on monarchy, legacy, and national identity in a changing world.

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Have you ever been curious about how the news agenda is set and why certain stories lead the front page?

In a live recording of The Observer podcast, The News Meeting, you’ll get a chance to see and hear how conversations shape the news agenda. You’ll get an insight into how newsrooms around the world decide what leads the news, what follows and in what order during their daily editorial conferences. You will be able to have your say, share the stories you think our panel of editors should be talking about, and watch leading journalists battle it out to make their story the lead of the day.

Joining the evening’s line-up are The Observer‘s Deputy Sports Editor, Jessica Hayden, Climate Editor, Jeevan Vasagar, and RSA Fellow and Chief Political Commentator, Andrew Rawnsley. Together, they’ll bring insight, expertise and lively debate to the stage as they argue to Deputy Editor-in-Chief Giles Whittell for what should top the news agenda.

Be a part of The News Meeting live and help set the news agenda.

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For 13 years, Sir Alex has led one of the world’s most iconic cultural institutions through a period of extraordinary change.

Brexit. A global pandemic that closed theatres overnight. A cost-of-living crisis reshaping audiences and audience behaviour. Few organisations have faced these pressures more intensely, or more visibly, than the Royal Ballet and Opera.

In this wide-ranging conversation, he reflects on what it takes to steward an institution of immense history and global reputation through one of the most defining and difficult decades in its history.

This event will be followed by a drinks reception at 8pm.

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In partnership with: Royal Ballet and Opera

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