West Street, Fareham (56) by Barry Shimmon, CC BY-SA 2.0 By Dr Alice Moore, Assistant Professor in Public Management and Public Policy School of Government, University of Birmingham One of the headline announcements from last week’s Budget was £1.8 billion for compensation to victims of the Post Office scandal. Yet the money Rachel Reeves allocated to … Continue reading “Why money isn’t enough to solve the problem of the Post Office Horizon replacement”
Category: Technology
Immersive worlds: Well-being in the (sometimes) blurred boundaries and realities of gaming
By Dr Daniel Wheatley, University of Birmingham; Dr Emma J Breeze, University of Birmingham; Helen Greetham, University of Birmingham; and Mikayla Sinead, Bridge Network Group The singer Raye recently said in an interview that gaming is her secret to escaping life. It appears she’s not the only one. Gaming is a massive worldwide industry employing … Continue reading “Immersive worlds: Well-being in the (sometimes) blurred boundaries and realities of gaming”
Is AI’s future in the past?
By Professor Stephanie Decker Department of Strategy and International Business, Birmingham Business School Much of the buzz around Artificial Intelligence (AI), and more specifically Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI), focuses on what the widespread access to these new technologies will mean for the future of society, professions and the workplace. But AI also has the potential … Continue reading “Is AI’s future in the past?”
How can universities use GenAI?
By Dr Kamilya Suleymenova & Dr Mary Dawood Department of Economics, Birmingham Business School The first open-to-general-public GenAI tool was launched in November 2022 and headlines ranged from exceptionally optimistic to dramatically alarmist. The ability to generate text (as well as code, and later images, audio, and video) was immediately spotted by those involved in … Continue reading “How can universities use GenAI?”
AI and Democracy: A threat or an opportunity?
By Dr Adam Matthews, School of Education, University of Birmingham 2024 has been described as make or break for democracy worldwide with 1.5 billion citizens going to the polls in more than 50 countries. With many claiming AI will be as disruptive as steam, electricity, printing press, TV and radio, and the internet, AI technologies … Continue reading “AI and Democracy: A threat or an opportunity?”
The trailblazers greening the music industry and why it matters
By Professor Caroline Moraes Professor of Marketing and Consumer Research Birmingham Business School, Department of Marketing Co-Director, Centre for Responsible Business Billie Eilish is the latest artist to announce that she is taking action on sustainability issues by producing her upcoming album with materials that are environmentally friendly. Her plan is to use recycled or … Continue reading “The trailblazers greening the music industry and why it matters”
Who gets a say in the future direction of AI?
By Dr Adam Matthews Senior Research Fellow, School of Education, University of Birmingham This week’s AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park hosted politicians, big tech and academics to come together to forge a shared understanding of AI to create national and international frameworks which ensure frontier AI safety through collaboration in research, evaluation and governance, … Continue reading “Who gets a say in the future direction of AI?”
Making Wise Choices Online: Navigating the Moral Web
By Aidan Thompson, Director of Strategic Initiatives The Jubilee Centre for Character & Virtues, University of Birmingham Last week, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby called for social media users to engage with ‘truth, kindness and welcome’ when interacting online. The focus on engaging with social media morally and positively, from a prominent religious and political … Continue reading “Making Wise Choices Online: Navigating the Moral Web”
Tackling cyber threats to democracy
By Conor Deane-McKenna, Doctoral Researcher in Cyberwarfare Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham This week French President Emmanuel Macron proposed the creation of a European Agency for the Protection of Democracies to work alongside EU member states to protect elections against cyber-attacks and manipulation. The opinion piece comes before EU Parliamentary … Continue reading “Tackling cyber threats to democracy”