The Wilberforce Society Annual Conference: "Brave New World: Reimagined"

Join us at our Annual Conference 2018, 'Brave New World: Reimagined'. ** Tickets are now available at https://fixr.co/event/839889716 ** The world has undergone significant and often unprecedented changes, and new challenges and opportunities are constantly being unearthed. Through four panels, we hope to explore what this new world might look like, the issues that it will face, and how we should think about legislating and policymaking for the future. KEYNOTE SPEAKER: SIR MALCOLM RIFKIND Sir Rifkind is one of only five people to serve as Minister through both the Thatcher and Major Ministries, including as Defence and Foreign Secretary. He also served as Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, and he remains a leading commentator on world issues. THE WHITE HEAT OF TECHNOLOGY will explore the impact of recent technological innovations, from artificial intelligence to driverless cars and other forms of disruptive technology, and how we can respond or adapt to these fast-paced changes * Professor Sir Mark Walport - Former Government Chief Scientific Advisor, Chief Executive of UK Research and Innovation, and the “Supremo of UK Science” according to The Guardian * Professor John Naughton - Professor of Public Understanding of Technology at the Open University; Observer columnist and renowned academic; author of "A Brief History of the Future: Origins of the Internet" * Rodolfo Rosini - Founder of three Artificial Intelligence companies, named in Business Insider’s Top 100 in UK Tech BRIDGING DIVIDES will look at the divisions that have emerged (or resurfaced) in society along various lines, explore the reasons behind them, and consider the possible ways in which these might come to be healed * David Goodhart - Prominent journalist, political commentator and author, founder of Prospect magazine and currently Head of the Demography Unit at the think tank Policy Exchange; his new book “The Road to Somewhere: The New Tribes Shaping British Politics” has been chosen as Book of the Year 2017 by the Economist, the Guardian and is a Sunday Times Bestseller * Dr Anne Marthe van der Bles - Prominent academic whose research looks into collective discontent and voting for extreme parties * Lord Bird - British social entrepreneur, founder of the Big Issue, and crossbench peer known for his work on tackling poverty and homelessness * Benedict Rogers - Distinguished writer and Human Rights Advocate, frequent contributor to the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and The Guardian; co-founder of the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission * Barry Griffiths - Communities Officer at Jimmy's Cambridge, a Night Shelter which has been helping the homeless for more than 20 years LIBERTY IN THE INSECURITY AGE will consider the difficult balance that must be struck between security and liberty in an age where threats to our collective safety are ever more pressing and prevalent; the ethics and efficacy of state surveillance; and, ultimately, how our civil liberties can best be protected * Nigel Inkster - Former Head of Special Operations, MI6 * Silkie Carlo - Director of Big Brother Watch, former Senior Advocacy Officer at Liberty * Professor Andrew Murray - Professor of Law at LSE, specialising in New Media and Technology Law * Dr Tamara Makarenko - Former freelance intelligence consultant and academic; founder of West Sands Advisory Limited * Dr Thomas Maguire (moderator) - Junior Research Fellow at POLIS in Cambridge; Teaching Fellow in the Department of War Studies, King's College London THE SOCIAL NETWORK will reflect on how we interact with one another in the online sphere, and the effect of phenomena like echo chambers and 'fake news' on societal discourse * Dr Aaron Balick - Psychotherapist specialising in psychodynamics of social networking * Dr Sander van der Linden - Director of the Social Decision-Making Lab, Department of Psychology, Cambridge * Kate Moffat - Senior Director at FTI Consulting Strategic Communications * Dr Grant Blank - Survey Research Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute; sociologist specialising in social and cultural impact of the Internet * Oliver Smith (moderator) - Senior Reporter at The Memo; winner of Gold Award at MHP’s 30 To Watch Join some of the best minds in the field, big names and students from across Cambridge as we tackle the world's most pressing questions!