Published 26 October 2023
Before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s AI Safety Summit, folks in Cambridge city centre are invited to ‘hop on a bus’ and chat about what they’re hopeful or worried about when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) becoming more part of our daily lives.
Cambridge has long been home to some top minds in AI research, and a recent report even called it the most ‘AI-ready’ city in the UK. So really, what better spot to get experts and everyday people together for an open chat about AI?
This event is part of a team-up between ai@cam – the University of Cambridge’s new main AI project – the Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science, and the Public, and the Accelerate Programme for Scientific Discovery. People will have a rare chance to share their thoughts directly with leading researchers who work on how AI is made, used, and affects us… all inside two specially designed double-decker buses parked on Parker’s Piece right in central Cambridge.
Dr Catherine Galloway from the Kavli Centre said: “AI is already an inescapable part of everyday life – whether we’re asking Siri a question, getting recommendations on Netflix or our banks protecting us from fraud. But most of us have no idea how it works – and no one asks if we really want it, or if we are happy to have it in our lives.
“That’s why, with the world’s attention on the UK summit, we’re getting our AI researchers and members of the public on board together to ask ‘where are we going with AI?’”
“The mini conversations happening on the bus are a very non-scary way to explore what we feel about our shared future with this technology, and a chance to get curious about where it might lead us while we still have time to change direction.”
Dr Catherine Galloway
Inside these buses you’ll find the Kavli Centre’s Hopes and Fears Lab – an artist-designed pop-up experiment made out of cardboard that aims to help people think creatively about big scientific changes shaping society. After this run at Parker’s Piece, it’ll show up again at the British Library on 1 November as part of the official AI Fringe around the summit. The People’s Panel on AI will also drop by as they consider their views.
When people jump aboard in Cambridge, they’ll be asked if there’s any particular topic they want to talk about before being paired with one of the AI researchers for a quick 15-minute chat. The talks mainly focus on stuff that hits close to home like AI at work, creativity with AI, health impacts from AI, education changes through AI and security issues linked to it.
The team from Kavli will record these chats through video and social media while artist Tom Mc Lean-who created this lab-will sketch scenes from conversations as they happen.
Jessica Montgomery, Director of ai@cam said: “The Hopes and Fears Lab is a fun, accessible, and interactive way to be part of an important international conversation about the future of AI that is happening right now.”
“Everyone is likely to have an opinion about the role of AI in our lives and every opinion is important – we’re looking forward to hearing them.”
Jessica Montgomery
You can catch these special AI Hopes and Fears buses at Parker’s Piece in Cambridge on 26th & 27th October running from 10 am till 4 pm. And yes-it won’t cost you anything.
Gallery images below by Katie Light
