This conference takes place in London on the 6th and 7th July. It looks amazing. There are three themes this year: Alternative Visions, Alternative You, and Making Alternatives. Digging into the programme, we find sessions like:

Unequal Futures

We’ve all heard about how our bodies can be enhanced with technology, but what if, in the future, only rich people can afford them. Could that ultimately lead to the fulfillment of H.G.Wells’ vision of a dystopian future in which the human race is divided between those who live a utopian kind of existence and those who live a pretty grim one?

Educ-AI-tion rebooted: Artificial intelligence and learning

CrimeForce Love team

In the year 2050, what will crime look like? What role (if any) will AI have in solving crime? The blurb says: “Enter the mean streets of 2050s London in this choose-your-own-future sci-fi cop drama”, which sounds fascinating, because it’s being run more than once, and the outcome could be different each time.

The geopolitics of AI

A discussion with Evgeny Morozov and John Thornhill.

Rewiring the collaborative economy, with Alice Casey

Imagine if the immense organising power of tech platforms were focused on meeting social challenges like care or mental health and wellbeing.

I’ve only given you a brief taster of this year’s FutureFest. It sounds very different from most conferences, and the biggest problem will be, as ever, having too much choice! It’s running on a Friday and Saturday, so even if you can’t get time off school, do try to get along on the Saturday if you can.

https://www.futurefest.org/programme

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