This year’s Institute for Policy Research (IPR) symposium, This is Tomorrow, aims to address the ongoing debates affecting our future - ranging from China’s growing dominance in the world and the future of work, to global security, climate change, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ethics, and the future of welfare systems.
Climate change is rapidly reshaping the world around us, as we increasingly face extreme weather events, species extinction and resource depletion. Our global security systems are also under strain, as migration and conflict continues, and warfare continuously changes with the introduction of new technologies.
Meanwhile, AI influences our lives on a daily basis - from GPS and optimising logistics, to personalised online recommendations and the use of smart technologies within our homes. How do we ensure that these new automated systems improve society as a whole – and not just those who control them?
Similarly, welfare systems in the UK and internationally are constantly under debate. Their purpose, size and utility dominates public discourse while we face shifting challenges, ranging from austerity economics and gender inequality, to changes in the family and a precarious labour market.
Over the course of two keynote presentations and three panels, world renowned academics, practitioners and researchers will expand upon these global developments and concerns, and shed light on what the future might hold.
Registration Deadline: 2 September 2019
Hashtag: #IPRthisistomorrow
Provisional programme
9.30 - 10.00am: Registration and tea and coffee
10.00 - 10.10am: Welcome
Professor Nick Pearce (IPR)
10.10 - 11.10am: Keynote One: Beginnings of a New World Order: The Rise of China
Martin Jacques (Author, Broadcaster, and Speaker)
Chair: Professor Nick Pearce (IPR)
11.10am - 12.30pm: Panel One: Global Security and Climate Change. Warfare and Extinction...
- Dr Chad Briggs (University of Alaska Anchorage)
- Dr Jessica Hope (University of Bristol)
- Denis Kierans (University of Oxford)
Chair: Professor David Galbreath (University of Bath)
12.30 - 1.30pm: Lunch (Fountain Cafe)
1.30 - 2.50pm: Panel Two: The Future of AI and Ethics: Are we moving to an augmented human enterprise?
- Sarah Hunter (Google X)
- Reema Patel (The Nuffield Foundation)
- Professor Susan Halford (University of Bristol)
Chair: Dr Rachid Hourizi (University of Bath)
2.50 - 3.50pm: Panel Three: The Future of Welfare Systems: How should global welfare systems evolve in the 21st century?
- Fran Bennett (University of Oxford)
- Dr Rana Jawad (University of Bath)
- Robert Joyce (Institute for Fiscal Studies)
Chair: Professor Jane Millar (University of Bath)
3.50 - 4.10pm: Refreshment break
4.10 - 5.20pm: Keynote Two: The Future of Work and Wages
Gavin Kelly (Chair of Resolution Foundation and Chair of Living Wage Commission)
Chair: Professor Nick Pearce (IPR)
5.20 - 5.30pm: Closing remarks
Professor Nick Pearce (IPR)
5.30 - 6.30pm: Drinks reception