A free public lecture at the University of Bath will explain why decision-makers need to look at the global big picture to avoid world catastrophe (Tuesday 8 June).
Speaker Dr James Martin was described as “Britain’s leading futurologist” by The Sunday Times and ranked fourth in Computerworld magazine’s list of the 25 individuals who have most influenced the world of computer science.
He believes that if we make the right decisions in tackling the world’s big problems humankind has an extraordinary future, but that if we get it wrong, we could be plunged into a new type of Dark Age.
Dr Martin is founder of the James Martin 21st Century School at the University of Oxford, where he encourages researchers of different disciplines to work together in innovative ways to address future challenges.
In his lecture, entitled Our future: understanding the big picture, he will speak of the need to work together to understand the big picture to avoid catastrophes such grand-scale famine, intellectual terrorism or mass unemployment.
Dr Martin said: “Humankind today finds itself in a financial meltdown, but with extraordinary new technology that will change our world and change humans themselves. Today’s science could lead to far more exciting lives and glorious civilizations than those of today. At the same time, we are steadily wrecking our small and totally isolated planet.
“In the next three decades the world’s population will increase by twice the population of China. It will demand forms of consumption far beyond what the Earth can provide. We are travelling at breakneck speed into an age of extremes – extremes in wealth and poverty, extremes in technology, and extreme forces of globalism.
“The big problems that lie in our future have solutions. The risk is that our political systems will not implement the solutions.”
The free lecture will be held at the Claverton campus on Tuesday 8 June 2010 at 6.15pm in 8 West 3.22. For more information and tickets please email Paula McGrane or call 01225 383555.