This talk is based on my recent book, The Political Lives of Information: Information and the Production of Development in India, which examines the history of the idea of “information” and its political implications for poverty alleviation in India. We live in a world that sees information as empowering and democratising. But how does information work in practice and who does it work for?

What if the sun truly is setting on the Western world’s outsized influence over the rest of the planet? Are we prepared for very different global future?

On 16 October join Dr Samir Puri, author of Westlessness and Russia’s Road to War with Ukraine, in conversation with Professor Teresa Bejan, Fellow in Politics at Oriel College.

Join Dr Samir Puri, author of Westlessness and Russia’s Road to War with Ukraine, in conversation with Professor Teresa Bejan, Fellow in Politics at Oriel College.

Puri is a former UK civil servant. He worked for the Foreign Office (2009–15) — including a year seconded to a ceasefire monitoring mission in Ukraine — and was later a lecturer in War Studies at King’s College London (2015–18). His most recent role was Senior Fellow at IISS-Asia based in Singapore (2020–22). In 2023, he became an Associate Fellow at Chatham House.

If you are interested in attending any of these events, please send an email to plp@law.ox.ac.uk to indicate i) which events you plan to attend, ii) whether you would like to join the speaker for dinner that evening, iii) whether you plan to attend the student seminar accompanying the Colloquium.

For more information, visit the PLP Colloquium website:
www.law.ox.ac.uk/research-and-subject-groups/jurisprudence-oxford/PLP-colloquium
where up-to-date information is listed.

In 1951, Alan Turing predicted the eventual loss of human control over machines that exceed human capabilities. I will argue that Turing was right to express concern but wrong to think that doom is inevitable. Instead, we need to develop a new kind of AI that is provably beneficial to humans. I will describe an approach -- assistance games -- that seems promising. On the horizon, however, are a number of open questions, some of them familiar to moral philosophers and government regulators and some of them new.

Join Oxford University International Relations Society for a fascinating talk with Lord William Hague (Magdalen), chairman of the Royal Foundation. Lord Hague will reflect on the future of foreign policy, the prospects for the UK, the implications of rapid advances in science and technology, and the crucial role of Oxford in the next decade.

Join Oxford University International Relations Society for a fascinating talk with Lord Peter Mandelson (St Catherine’s), Co-founder and President of Global Counsel. Lord Mandelson will share valuable insights on topics related to British foreign policy under the Labour government as well as how UK higher education may foster cooperation in contemporary international politics between powers major and minor.