UPCOMING EVENTS

Empowerment and Ethics at the Edge: the Benefits and Risks of Edge Technologies

• 2024
• Debate, Discussion
• The Royal Society and online

The shift towards citizen-centric edge technologies like AI enhances lives like never before. From personalized adviser apps on smartphones to applications in personalised medicine, these edge technologies promise transformative potential, but with those benefits come new threats and risks. Organised in collaboration with The PETRAS National Centre of Excellence, this event will explore how technologies at the edge can revolutionise citizens’ experiences, while ensuring ethical and security considerations remain at the forefront. The discussion will illuminate the benefits and risks of this technological evolution, and how to ensure a balanced perspective that prioritises the well-being of citizens. We hope that you can join us to explore the gradual migration of AI to the Edge and its profound implications for society.

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The Role of UK National Laboratories

• 2024
• The Royal Society and online

The UK has a range of national laboratories, which have a number of different roles within the national science and technology ecosystem. These include the provision of large scale research facilities and related scientific expertise, supporting regulation and standards, curation of key scientific assets, protection of national infrastructure and the natural environment, and the provision of advice to government and regulators. These different national research laboratories have different governance models, often driven by history rather than design, and are funded from a mixture of public and private funding, with public funding from both within and outside of the science budget. Recent reviews by both Sir Paul Nurse and Sir Patrick Vallance have considered the role of these facilities, and whether the UK is making the best use of them. In this event, we will explore the breadth of national laboratories within the UK, and how any incoming government can make the best uses of them in the years ahead.

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