The role of AI in Space Exploration

What can we trust AI to do in Space and will it better our lives back on Earth? 

This was the question we tried to answer for Manchester Science Festival this year! Here was the brief

Take a journey into the unknown with our expert panel and discover how AI could be applied to Space exploration.

Sit down with STEM champion, social entrepreneur and computer scientist, Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE, and the UK Space Agency's Head of Space Exploration, Libby Jackson OBE, as they discuss how their worlds collide in this interactive forum.

Joined by Professor Andy Miah PhD, Chair of Science Communication and Future Media at the University of Salford, our panel explores the endless opportunities of this evolving technology, from rover navigation, satellite design and lasering space junk, to the weather and television communications.

Is the future already here, or are we just talking science fiction?

Future of Media Manchester

It was a pleasure to speak at the first FoMM event in Manchester at the end of last month, giving a lightning talk on IMMERSIVE INTELLIGENCE. It was a fantastic event, very well organized and massive!

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NotebookLM

Over the last few months, Google has quietly rolled out NotebookLM, but it’s now going viral. It’s an AI platform, which will take text and turn it into a 2 person podcast.

I’ve launched a Spotify podcast using the platform, which you can subscribe to, but also here is one episode.

Creative Conference manchester

It was a pleasure to speak at the Pro-Manchester Creative Conference 2024 over at UA92, discussing how creative innovation is shaping Greater Manchester!

Differently Abled Takes the Spotlight #Paris2024

Just before leaving Paris, I visited a new exhibition dedicated to Paralympic history and now these Games are concluded, it’s a good time to reflect on how far we’ve come. Take a look

BEYOND Conference

We had some very exciting news a couple of months ago, which is that the University of Salford will be the main education partner for the BEYOND Conference in November. You can discover more about it via this blog post I wrote for them recently, focusing on creativity at the Olympic Games.

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

There’s quite a lot to cover here, but in short, all of my posts can be found through Games Time News

I was delighted to be back at the Games after missing out on Beijing and Tokyo due to covid. I also have published a couple of articles in The Conversation

SEG3 Culture x Technology

It was a pleasure to be back again at the SEG3 conference taking place in London, having the opportunity to discuss the future of technology with Herman Narula. We covered a lot of ground, but the one area that struck me most was the part of the discussion that focused on values and how a metaverse can be a place where new value systems around digital living can image. This seems crucial at a time when there is significant concern about data expolitation.

Sport Accord

This year, I was really happy to be back at Sport Accord, speaking about all things technology. We covered artificial intelligence, immersive tech, and gaming to talk about the future of sport. You can find one of my talks acrhived on YouTube here

Edinburgh Science Festival

This year, I was delighted to host an event within ESF focused on the future of artificial intelligence, featuring Madhumita Murgia, AI Editor for the Financial Times.

TEDx University of Salford

It was my pleasure to co-host the University’s TEDx event again this year, such a remarkable number of people involved!

Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

What a fantastic week at The University of Salford. We had our The Royal Institution Christmas Lectures livestream event with great talks from Marieke Navin, Dr Helen Whitehead, and Dorien de Vries, each discussing how artificial intelligence is shaping their work.

We even managed to align that event with the Greater Manchester Institute of Technology inaugural conference, which brought students and staff from across the colleges and university together. I was delighted to give the keynote talk and proud to have so many of our colleagues supporting the event. It was fantastic to hear from Jo Purves, Claire Foreman, and GCHQ about all the exciting things that are happening.

Finally, we went up to the STEM Learning UK and met Séverine Trouillet FRSA and the incredible team to take part in the second of the The Royal Institution livestreams.

So many people helped to make all of these events happen, especially anthony stephens, Tina H-Mistry, Andre Davies, Maria Dickinson, Daniel Williamson.

We also launched our Salford 360 campaign, which brings together each of our schools to speak about key areas of interest. This month, we've focused on artificial intelligence and you can read
https://lnkd.in/e58n8qu4

One more week to go! Have a great weekend everyone!

https://lnkd.in/ez4hjJFM

Greater Manchester Institute of Technology Inaugural Student Conference

I was delighted to be the keynote for this amazing, first event, bringing together all of our college partners to talk about the latest innovations in science and technology. We focused a lot on artifcial intelligence and immersive technologies.

The BRILLIANT Festival

It was a pleasure to speak at the Brilliant Festival in Liverpool, where we got into all the ways in which technology is fostering new skills within education. This new event is likely to develop a major legacy for the region, so well worth a follow.

SciCom23 Luxembourg

I was delighted to give the keynote at this year’s Luxembourg National Research Fund science communication conference, speaking about artificial intelligence and immersive worlds. Such a fantastic community with some incredible work. Find more about them here

Science Communication in the Metaverse

Fantastic visiting Oxford University to speak about innovative practices in science communication, harnessing the potential of digital to engage people differently.

SEG3

Very pleased to Chair a panel at the SEG3 conference in London, focused on the metaverse.

Panel: The Road to an Interoperable Metaverse

Thursday, June 29

An open metaverse is the long term goal of many within the space, but what would this look like, and how can it be achieved? This session will explore:

The technological framework that needs to be in place to support the vision

The timelines to achieving an open metaverse

The role of blockchain

The role of universal game development standards

Ownership of digital assets in web2 and web3 environments

The impact of interoperability on consumers and enterprise

Fast Forward podcast

Very pleased to be featured in this new podcast presented by by Ghislaine Boddington. Here’s the overview and links

Are you planning a summer holiday? Maybe you will have some time to relax on a lounger listening to the near future narratives I am presenting in the Fast Forward Season 2 podcast!

Join me as we explore the transformative shifts that emerging technologies are bringing to our bodies, minds and behaviours. This international series features engaging conversations with global experts, unlocking future visions. From avatars to women in gaming, to technology's impact on family dynamics, Fast Forward Season 2 covers it all.

The first 3 episodes are available:

Ep. 1 - "The Metaverse Blend - hyper-enhancing our hybrid future": Explore the I and the We of our new virtual realms, from the creation of individualised avatars that shape our virtual identities/self-expression by Michaela Larosse (The Fabricant) to how we can/will participate in groups with Professor Andy Miah, Chair of Science Communication & Future Media at The University of Salford explaining the advanced methods in e-sports.

Ep. 2 - "Women in Gaming - empowerment leads to engagement": Dive into the history of gender representation in the gaming industry, witness the inspiring transformations happening today. With life stories from Ghada Almoqbel, CEO of GCON, and Jennifer Donahoe Donahue, Head of Publishing & Marketing at HiDef, Inc.

Ep. 3 - "Telegram to Telepresence - is the family being swept away on a digital tidal wave?" Explore the concerns surrounding data transmission within our homes and its impact on parental care. And what happens when digital touch is also an option? Guests: Sonia Livingstone, Prof. of Social Psychology at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Sly Spencer-Lee, Co-Founder/Co-CEO at Emerge®.

And there's more - here's what's coming up:

Ep. 4 - "Extended self - our future digital twins": Uncover the transformative power of personalised body data and the boundless possibilities it offers. What about the lack of diversity of the data available? Guests: Michael D. Geer, Co-Founder of Humanity Inc. and Marija Butkovic, Founder of Women of Wearables (wearables, health tech & femtech).

Ep. 5 - "Cyborg Shifts – embedding technologies into our bodies": Discover groundbreaking advancements in cyborg technology, as prostheses and implants converge, creating opportunities for shifts towards cyborg existences. Guests: Dani Clode, University of Cambridge and trans-species artist Neil Harbisson.

Ep. 6 - "STEM Women are changing the world": Gain insights into women in tech activism and networks, inspiring the next generation of STEM leaders. Hear the experiences of younger women in STEM. Guests: Patricia Peck Pinheiro, PhD, CEO/Founding Partner of Peck Advogados and Dr A-Marie I., CEO of Stemettes.

Listen to explore how these emerging technologies will shape our lives and the world around us!

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eBSjbNbn
Apple: https://lnkd.in/ePPUbAWZ

For new episodes, hit subscribe. If you like the series, rate and review it.

Where is the metaverse?

There's a huge amount of talk about the metaverse, but if you're new to this world and wondering what it's all about, then where can you begin?

I've dropped content from a few metaverse worlds into this video, but I'm particularly excited to include footage from a recent PixelMax experience.

https://pixelmax.com/

I'm really excited to be working with PixelMax and we'll be sharing more about projects we have in the pipeline later, bringing together Salford University and MediaCityUK. In the mean time, if you're a developer wanting to work with their SDK, then you can head over to here for registration.

https://pixelmax.com/products/sdk

If you'd just like to play around and see what's coming around the corner in the PixelMax store soon, then take a look at the demo site: https://pixelmax.com/demo

Global Esports Summit (London)

I was delighted to be the host of the Global Esports Summit, which took place again this year in London.

You can take a look at all the exciting sessions that took place.

Discover more on esports here.