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.

March 2024

Webinar: Special Effect: using games to change lives
Wednesday 20 March 2024, 6.30pm, FREE, online
BCS
A talk on the work of Special Effect – a charitable organisation that uses computer games to promote inclusion and enablement.

AI’s empathy gap
Tuesday 26 March 2024, 2-3pm, FREE, online
Centre for Research in Digital Education
“This talk focuses on a child-centred approach to AI that takes into account key risks to children’s interests, from the dangers of anthropomorphisation to the flaws of natural language processing.”

Technomoral Conversations: Who is Responsible for Responsible AI?
Wednesday 27 March 2024, 6pm-7.20pm, FREE, hybrid
Edinburgh Futures Institute (University of Edinburgh)

Taking inspiration from the Edinburgh Declaration on Responsibility for Responsible AI, this conversation will look at what matters most when we talk about ‘Responsible AI’ and responsibility for autonomous systems. Together, we will discuss what it will take to make the framing of Responsible AI meaningful and conducive to real change in the AI ecosystem.

Gazing at the ceiling
Thursday 28 March 2024, 8pm, FREE, hybrid
Highgate Literary & Scientific Insitution

“Jerome Wynne has previously worked as a data scientist serving national security clients. He is currently employed as a research strategy and delivery lead at the UK Government’s Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute. As such he will assist AISI to achieve its goal to become a proactive, high-velocity, high-impact, iterative and empirically-guided research agency that detects and mitigates the adverse effects of AI risk.

His talk, “Gazing at the Ceiling”, will look at the capability ceiling of AI as it is now and as it is likely to be in the coming decade. As well as touching on the work of AISI, the talk will include demonstrations of current technology and provide an examination of the likely main areas of advance.”

April 2024

Amazing Algorithms
Tuesday 2 April 2024, 2-4pm, £12, Cambridge
Centre for Computing History
“In this hands-on workshop, we will understand what an algorithm is and how important it is to write a correct algorithm in order to make a computer do a particular task.”

The Magic of Computer Science
Tuesday 9 April 2024 – morning (7-8 year olds), afternoon (9-11 year olds)
Royal Institution, £40/32, London

(London) Easter holiday workshops at the Royal Institution with Paul Curzon (ages 7-8 & 9-11) – 9 April 2024

Generative AI in programming education: Bridging the gap from school to what lies ahead
Tuesday 16 April 2024, 5pm, FREE, online
Raspberry Pi
Secondary school students and teachers have particular needs and face specific constraints that result in a unique landscape in terms of programming education. The rise of generative AI complicates this scene but also provides several potential opportunities. One of the greatest challenges in this arena is that while university students studying computing have a high likelihood of continuing on a path in computing, most school students choose to go into non-computing disciplines for further/higher education and/or their careers. This talk will focus on how generative AI may be effectively utilised in secondary school programming education and how it can be leveraged so that students can be best prepared for continuing their education or beginning their careers, regardless of discipline.

ICT for Education seminar
Tuesday 23 April 2024, 3.30 – 7pm, FREE, London
ICT for Education / QMUL
“The event is for those teaching in primary, secondary,independent, special and FE with a passion for Computing, Computer Science,Technology, and with a commitment to raising the standards of computer literacyand the appreciation of technology among students.

Paul Curzon, Professor of Computer Science at QMUL, Miles Berry, Professor of Computing Education at the University of Roehampton, and Tig Williams, CAS Master Teacher, teacher trainer and IT professional, will be presenting content tohelp you in your teaching of Computer Science.

East London and its Role in the Development of International Telecoms
Wednesday 24 April 2024, 6pm, £4, online
The National Museum of Computing
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.

May 2024

The Next Fifty Years of Tech
Tuesday 7 May 2024, 6pm, FREE, online or in London
Gresham College
Come take a ride in the Tech Time Machine and explore how IT may change our lives in the next fifty years. By employing techniques used by science fiction writers, we can imagine how Artificial Intelligence, extended reality, mobile connectivity, quantum computing, and others will develop.

How will they converge, enable and accelerate each other? We can anticipate the opportunities and challenges technology may bring. Why should we fear disruption? Should we instead embrace it?

The Festival of Portable Computing
Saturday 18 – Sunday 19 May 2024, £10/7, Cambridge
Centre for Computing History
“We’re holding a special Retro Computer Festival weekend as part of our season celebrating the portable computer.”

Recordings of recent talks

Breakthroughs in AI: A Webinar Series on Innovation and Exploration
Series originally broadcast between 5th and 14th March 2024
QMUL
A series of talks aimed at postgraduate students considering studying AI-related degrees at Queen Mary University of London. The first part of each talk is also a good, general overview of the particular sub-topic. The talks were broadcast via Zoom and you can register to watch the recordings.

• Revolutionising Tomorrow: A Deep Dive into Artificial Intelligence with Queen Mary Experts
• Machine Learning and Finance
• AI skills and digital business transformation
• AI and Healthcare
• AI and Ethics
• Human-centric Innovation

Data Protection for Thrillseekers <– video will be linked here
Originally given on Tuesday 19 March 2024 at 6pm (video should appear in a few days)
Gresham College
“We increasingly share with online services intimate details of our lives, such as mental health and reproductive data. Far from being a ‘tick box’ legal exercise, data protection is about fair and responsible use of our personal information.

It gives us rights which we are entitled to exercise against mega corporations, governments, and anyone who processes our data.

It’s time to get empowered. Because if we don’t use it, we might lose it.”