Theme: Into the Periphery

Out of sight, out of mind? When we step Into the Periphery, we explore what has historically been overlooked or sidelined. What have we forgotten, misconstrued, neglected, or actively ignored?

Come down to our latest Salon to bring new dimensions of often marginalised issues to light. Our Salon offers a chance to engage with the theme and explore ideas in an intimate, dinner party-style setting. Discussing a range of relevant and critical topics from ecology to the moral status of AI, we hope to highlight and discuss fresh concepts and emerging innovations with you!

The Cambridge Brewhouse
1 King Street
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, CB1 1LH
United Kingdom

Barry Griffiths

Communications Officer

Barry is an ex-homeless individual, ex civil servant and now communications officer at Jimmy's Cambridge since 2013. Apart from being an avid reader, Mr Griffiths is an armchair sports enthusiast and an overall fan of life! In his talk, he will talk about the issues surrounding homelessness and identity.

Henry Shevlin

Centre for the Future of Intelligence- Research Associate

Dr Shevlin is a Research Associate at the Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge, where he leads the Consciousness and Intelligence project. Dr Shevlin will talk about the moral status AI will hold in the future. From the abused simulants of Blade Runner to the neglected child-robot ‘David’ in A.I. Artificial Intelligence, science-fiction is replete with the figure of the maltreated machine. But could an artificial system ever come to possess genuine moral status, and how would we know? In this talk, Dr Shevlin argues that this issue - while superficially esoteric - deserves serious consideration from philosophers and researchers, and examines various pathways that could lead us to identify an artificial being as possessing some moral status.

Hugh Warwick

Ecologist and Author

Hugh is an author and ecologist with a particular interest in hedgehogs. He says: "Over the 30+ years I have been studying hedgehogs there has been a gradual shift in public attitudes - and now it is rare to find anyone who has a negative thing to say about hedgehogs. People love hedgehogs - hedgehogs top all the polls for ’nation’s favourite’ species/animal/nature icon - and this means that I can talk about so many important ecological and environmental issues through the lens of the hedgehog."

Nicola Clayton and Clive Wilkins

Professor of Comparative Cognition, Artist and Writer

Professor Nicola Clayton FRS is Professor of Comparative Cognition in the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of the Royal Society. Professor Clive Wilkins is an artist and writer. He is Artist in Residence at the Department of Psychology at the University of Cambridge and a Member of the Magic Circle. Together, Professors Clayton and Wilkins will explore what cognitive illusions reveal about the psychology of our minds. Using magic tricks and research they will illuminate aspects from Theory of Mind, our ability to think about what others might be thinking, and will share research on why memory has evolved the way it has.