This event will look both forward and back as 2023 marks five years since the breaking of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which involved personal data belonging to millions of Facebook users being collected without their consent and being used to assist political campaigns.

Panel 1: Cambridge Analytica, what happened and what have we learned? 14:05-15:10

Discourses of racial supremacy, with "white supremacy" employed as a campaign slogan by the conservative Democratic Party, metastasized in American politics during Reconstruction. The election cycles of 1868-1871, Varon argues, reveal the depths of white opposition to Black voting, the limits of Republican Party egalitarianism, and the rhetorical dilemmas and strategies of Black activists in the long freedom struggle.

Professor James will explore how the work of 17th century Dutch-born philosopher Baruch Spinoza can help us to examine questions of truth in our own time.

The Upton Lecture is named after Charles Barnes Upton, Professor of Philosophy at the College between 1875-1903. The lecture is held annually and alternates between philosophical and religious themes. This year’s lecture has been made possible by the generous support of The Sekyra Foundation.

Artificial intelligence is already revolutionising our everyday lives, with the impact of AI only set to increase as the technology advances.

But what does this mean for society in general? Will robots take our jobs? Will humanity lose control to some form of superintelligence, or is the existential threat of AI being overhyped?

Join a panel of Oxford experts in AI ethics and application as they discuss the risks and benefits of artificial intelligence.


Speakers:

A hybrid event with world-leading climate scientist Dr Friederike Otto. She will be discussing why the world's attention needs to refocus on climate change. Dr Otto will be in conversation with our Director of Journalist Programmes, Mitali Mukherjee, and we will also include expert comments from other speakers plus an audience Q&A.

Authoritarianism is on the rise globally, with more than twice as many countries experiencing democratic decline as democratic enhancement in recent years. This has been occurring simultaneously with unprecedented rates of urbanization in many parts of the world, raising questions about the role of cities - often considered the focal points of democratic deepening - in this authoritarian turn.