Events for teachers, schoolkids, families, general public
This is an occasional post highlighting some talks and events that touch on computer science or computing-adjacent tech and which are not aimed solely at an academic audience. This isn’t a complete list (an impossible task!) but is drawn from a range of venues and organisations, some already computer-focused, some that have a wider focus but who sometimes host computing events. If you have a suitable event, particularly ones for which the public / schools can get tickets for, please let me (Jo) know, thanks.
Royal Institution Christmas Lectures – December
“The Truth About AI| with Prof Mike Wooldridge
The Ri’s annual #XmasLectures are being livestreamed to a number of venues across the UK. QMUL is one of them (in fact, two of them, as we have two screening sites). You can find out more information about livestreaming events near you here, and about our events below.
Main page | About the lectures |
About the livestream | FAQ |
Venue directions | Watch on TV |
Contact: Jo Brodie
Get free Eventbrite tickets ⬇️
Sat 16th
The lectures will be broadcast on the BBC over the Christmas holidays.
See also several other events with Mike Wooldridge, highlighted below.
November events
Tuesday 21 November
• The Maths of Sudoku and Latin Squares, Gresham College – free, hybrid – 1-2pm. “In this lecture, we discuss the mathematics behind them, and the links to other kinds of number grids, like magic squares and so-called Latin squares, which have been studied for centuries. Latin squares have many applications in areas as diverse as experiment design, algebra and coding theory.”
• Cybersystemics: what is it and why it is a useful new way to think about complex problems? UCL – free, in-person – 1-2pm
• The Life Scientific: Jim Al-Khalili in conversation with Mike Wooldridge, Royal Institution – £10/7, in person – 7-8.30pm. The conversation will be recorded for the BBC ‘The Life Scientific’ podcast.
Wednesday 22 November
• Webinar: Preparing children for artificial intelligence and BCS e-Learning AGM, BCS – free, online – 6-7pm (followed by AGM until 8.30pm). How children can learn about implications of artificial intelligence through experimenting and making, with machine learning technologies.
Monday 27 November
• Human-led AI, Gresham College – free, hybrid – 6pm.
“Is Artificial Intelligence fundamentally different from previous technological advancements?
This lecture will examine the opportunities and threats of the impending AI revolution, asking if AI differs from past technology waves and exploring measures to ensure AI safety.
It will introduce ‘Human-led AI’, a paradigm which emphasises human control and supervision over AI, to mitigate potential hazards whilst also harnessing the power of this dynamic technology.”
Tuesday 28 November
• Teaching AI at KS3, CAS AI Community launch event, CAS – free, online – 4pm. “In this AI community launch event, Jane Waite and Ben Garside will present the work they have been doing over the past 18 months in developing their understanding of AI education and some of the research and design principles that went into the design of an introductory unit of work on AI for KS3 called Experience AI. Specifically, the session will cover a framework called SEAME, looking at progression across the key stages, research into practice on anthropomorphisation and semantic waves and the key concept of data-driven vs rule-based approaches to program design. “
• Christmas Lectures rehearsal night, Royal Institution – £10/7, in-person – 6-7.30pm, with Mike Wooldridge testing out some demos (see more details in the lectures below).
Wednesday 29 November
• Undersea cables and the history of telegraphy and telecoms, The National Museum of Computing – £3, online – 6.30-7.30pm. “Within years of the creation of the world’s first electric telegraph system in the UK, services had expanded to Europe and – 175 years go this year – across the Atlantic to the United States. Greenwich, Woolwich and North Woolwich in East London played an important part in the first 100 years of that story: one manufacturer for example made 82% of the world’s subsea cables! Alcatel Submarine Networks, the successor to that company, remains on that same site today.”
December events
Friday 1 December
• Can Computers Create Art?, Oxford Internet Institute – free, hybrid – 1-2pm “Can AI algorithms make art, and be considered artists? Within the past decade, the growth of new neural network algorithms has enabled exciting new artforms with considerable public interest. These tools raise recurring questions about their status as creators and their effect on the arts. In this talk, I will discuss how these developments parallel the development of previous artistic technologies, like oil paint, photography, and traditional computer graphics, with many useful analogies between past and current developments. I finally argue that art is a social phenomenon, “AI” algorithms will not have human-level intelligence in the foreseeable future, and that it is extremely unlikely that we will ever consider algorithms to be artists.”
Saturday 2 December
• LiveWire Launch, Centre for Computing History – in-person, free (but need to pay for entry to the museum) – event runs throughout the day. “Join us for the launch of the exciting new game LiveWire. LiveWire is a super-simple strategy game which teaches younger players the basics of computing with smiles, laughs and a bit of friendly competition!”
Tuesday 5 December
• The Massive Internet of Things, Gresham College – free, hybrid – 6pm.
“Today, objects in smart cities, outer space, and medical implants in our bodies are connected to the internet.
When streetlamps can ‘talk’, when autonomous vehicles safely navigate, and energy and public services can be automatically routed when and where they are needed, we will reap the rewards of a Massive Internet of Things (MIoT).
How might we maximise the benefits while ensuring our data is protected and our networks are stable and secure?”
Wednesday 6 December
• Sums: They’re Math Magic, BCS – in person (Coventry), free – 6.30-8.30pm.
“This Christmas Lecture is aimed at school pupils and the young at heart and features Fun Maths.
Interaction by our younger attendees is fully endorsed and welcomed, so please bring your youngsters along, especially if they are struggling with maths; they may get fresh insights.”
• The future of generative AI, Part 3 – a series, organised in collaboration with the Royal Institution, 7-8.30pm,
£various, hybrid: online or in-person (London)
“In the final lecture of the series, we will explore the potential futures of generative AI, and what they could mean for AI applications as the technology progresses.
With their ability to generate human-like language and complete a variety of tasks, generative AI has the potential to revolutionize the way we communicate, learn and work. But what other doors will this technology open for us, and how can we harness it to make great leaps in technology innovation? Have we finally done it? Have we cracked AI?
Join Professor Michael Wooldridge for a fascinating discussion on the possibilities and challenges of generative AI models, and their potential impact on societies of the future.”
Tuesday 12 December
• Grounded cognition and computer science conceptual understanding in young children, Raspberry Pi – free, online – 5-6.30pm. “As computer science (CS) education becomes more prevalent in compulsory education from an early age worldwide, a diverse set of activities have been proposed to teach young children. These include different approaches such as unplugged, physical computing, or completely virtual programming interfaces. For very young children, experiences which integrate action and the use of concrete materials are often used and considered developmentally appropriate. In this talk, we will explore the implications of grounded cognition theory for the design and structure of early computing activities that promote and scaffold students’ conceptual understanding.”
• The Truth About AI (1 of 3), QMUL’s People Palace – free, in-person (livestream of the first of three Royal Institution’s Christmas Lectures, doors 5.30pm, event 6-8.30pm (info | other venues in the UK). “In this Lecture Mike will demonstrate the contrast between how a machine learns and how a human learns, and explain how neural networks accelerated the growth of AI. But could machines ever match human intelligence?”
Thursday 14 December
• The Truth About AI (2 of 3), QMUL’s People Palace – free, in-person (livestream of the second of three Royal Institution’s Christmas Lectures, doors 5.30pm, event 6-8.30pm (info | other venues in the UK). “In the second Lecture Mike will reveal the huge role AI already plays in our daily lives – without us even realising. He will demonstrate how the computer games that we play in our spare time have become a training ground for AI. He will also reveal the huge impact AI has had in fields ranging from football to, controversially, our creative lives – in art, photography and music.”
Saturday 16 December
• Family Gaming Night, Centre for Computing History – in-person, £11/8 (£34 for 2 adults & 2 children) – 6-10pm. Cambridge.
“As well as the extra displays from our Toys of Christmas Past month-long exhibition that’s running throughout December, we’ll have more video games, consoles, and computers out for you to play than you can shake a candy cane at!
And as it’s a special gaming night, we’ll be holding a gaming general knowledge quiz! Register your team and chance your arm at winning prizes!”
• The Truth About AI (3 of 3), QMUL’s People Palace – free, in-person (livestream of the first of three Royal Institution’s Christmas Lectures, doors 5.30pm, event 6-8.30pm (info | other venues in the UK). “In the final Lecture Mike will explore how AI should be treated as it gets more intelligent. He will explore where the technology is going – will we have machines that have the same status as us as intelligent/sentient entities?”
Thursday 21 December
• Electronics Lab 3D Christmas Tree, Centre for Computing History – £25/10, in-person – 11am to 1.30pm. Cambridge. “We’ll be turning our 80s Classroom into an Electronics Lab for this workshop. We’ll have soldering stations set-up and our in-house electronics experts will help you assemble, solder and test your Christmas Tree ready to take home with you.”
Places which have computing-themed talks and events
- Ada Lovelace Institute, London
- Alan Turing Institute, London (see also their Fringe Events)
- BCS – British Computer Society, London and national
- Centre for Computing History, Cambridge
- Centre for Digital Education, Edinburgh University
- Computer Conservation Society
- Edinburgh Futures Institute, Edinburgh University
- Gresham College, London
- Imperial College, London
- The National Museum of Computing, Bletchley Park
- OSHUG – Open Source Hardware User Group
- Oxford Internet Institute, Oxford University
- Raspberry Pi Foundation, Cambridge
- Royal Institution, London
- Royal Society, London
- TEDI (The Engineering & Design Institute), London
- UCL Lunch Hour Lectures, London
- Warwick Data, Warwick
Tell Jo if your organisation should be here and has a page with computing-ish events, thank you.
This blog is supported through EPSRC grant EP/W033615/1.
Teaching London Computing: A RESOURCE HUB from CAS LONDON & CS4FN 