Leverhulme CFI Researchers and Associate Fellows have recently featured in two episodes of Mind Over Chatter, the Cambridge University Podcast. This podcast series breaks down complex issues into simple questions and invites Cambridge academics to present their thoughts and ideas to a wide audience.

In this second series, the theme is all about the future. Speakers explore the nature of time itself - What even is the future? And is it in front of or behind us? - and episodes  also cover some of today’s most pressing questions, like how will artificial intelligence impact democracy?

The episodes featuring LCFI researchers are:

Episode 2: What did the future look like in the past? in which Jonny Penn is part of a panel discussing our attempts to understand how the future was thought of in the past. Along the way the panel discussed utopias and dystopias, the long history of science fiction, and how the future might come back to haunt us.

Episode 4: What would a more just future look like? Alexa Hagerty was one of the guests discussing what the future of fairness, justice, and equality should look like, and how their research can help to bring about a fairer society. Topics ranged from distributive justice, the virtues and vices of empathy, and the role AI will play in shaping equality in the years to come. 

Episode 5: What is the future of artificial intelligence? Guests include John Zerilli and Beth Singler discussing topics ranging from how to make AI ‘ethical’, how the media representation of AI can colour the public’s perception of what the real issues are, and the importance of an international AI regulatory system.