Weird Fiction – with M. John Harrison
Virtual Futures presents M. John Harrison, in conversation with Dr. Helen Marshall, on weird fiction and his new book, You Should Come With Me Now: Stories of Ghosts (Comma Press, 2017).
Kill All Normies – with Angela Nagle
Virtual Futures presents Angela Nagle in conversation on her new book, Kill All Normies: Online culture wars from 4chan and Tumblr to Trump and the alt-right.
Dawn of the New Everything – with Jaron Lanier
Virtual Futures presents Jaron Lanier in conversation on futures, the broken promises of cyberspace, artificial intelligence and virtual reality.
Genetic Perfection
Virtual Futures presents a panel discussion on the genetic modification of humans to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the release of the cult film GATTACA (1997).
The Story of Looking – with Mark Cousins
Virtual Futures presents film director and writer Mark Cousins in conversation on his new book, The Story of Looking.
Plato & the Nerd – with Edward A. Lee
Virtual Futures presents UC Berkley’s Edward A. Lee in conversation on his new book, Plato and the Nerd: The Creative Partnership of Humans and Technology.
Alternative Anatomies – with Stelarc & Nina Sellars
Virtual Futures presents Stelarc and Nina Sellars for a discussion on collaboration in artistic practice and the influence of anatomy on our understanding of body, identity and subjectivity.
Radicals – with Jamie Bartlett
Virtual Futures presents Jamie Bartlett in coversation on his new book, Radicals: Outsiders Changing the World.
Radical Technologies – with Adam Greenfield
Virtual Futures presents leading technology thinker Adam Greenfield on his field manual to the Radical Technologies that are transforming our lives.
Anticipating the Unknown
Virtual Futures presents a panel on the strategies for anticipating the unknown in an event that continues our mission to reassert the significance of science fiction as a tool for navigating the increasing technologisation of society and culture.
Californian Ideology – with Richard Barbrook
Virtual Futures presents Richard Barbrook in conversation with Pat Kane on the Californian Ideology and cyber-communism.
Intelligence Explosion – with Jaan Tallinn
Virtual Futures presents Jaan Tallinn (Founding Engineer of Skype & Kazaa) for an intimate discussion on artificial intelligence, existential risk and the intelligence explosion.
Team Human – with Douglas Rushkoff
Virtual Futures presents media theorist, author, documentarian, and world-renowned public intellectual, Douglas Rushkoff who has has spent his prolific career thinking about how new media and technology are impacting culture, business, and the economy.
Autonomous Killing Machines
As part of the Science Museum Lates series, Virtual Futures presents a panel on the interaction between Artificial Intelligence and weaponry, which will inform the landscape and practises of future warfare.
General Intellects – with McKenzie Wark
McKenzie Wark returns to Virtual Futures for the first time since 1995 to present his guide to the thinkers and ideas that will shape the future - and subsequently discuss his thoughts with Prof. Steve Fuller.
Surrender to Surveillance
Virtual Futures presents a discussion on technologies of surveillance, the infringements on privacy by the state, restrictions of individual freedom and the mutation of identity.
Altered Minds
State-of-the-art virtual environments, which are increasingly indistinguishable from reality, are fast proving themselves to have a transformative effect on the body and the brain - But virtual reality, like all technologies, is neutral: it can be used to treat but might it also be used to traumatise?
Altered Beauty – with Viktoria Modesta
Fireside chat with Viktoria Modesta (Bionic Multimedia Artist) on modern identity, tech fashion and science innovation.
Bot Concepts
What responsibilities do bot-makers have to ensure bots are created ethically? What sorts of interactions between bots and humans should we allow? What personality might a bot develop? How might bots provide a new interface between humans and internet-enabled objects?
World Building
Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) are no longer science fiction pipe-dreams, but there is still a question over whether the promise of a $30 billion industry can be met by 2020. What must be done in the next four years to ensure the predicted mainstream consumer adoption of VR?