Science Meets Sci-Fi | Virtual Futures Salon

Virtual Futures presents a panel discussion, and a series of short-story readings, on using near-future fiction to foster transformative conversations between scientists and other audiences.

By imagining possible futures, near-future fiction has the capacity to seize on the science and technology currently researched in laboratory environments and take it just far enough that it can provoke audiences to think on impending potential implications for society.

How can science fiction be used to create a self-reflexive capacity in scientists? How can fiction help communicate scientifc research to the wider public? How can encounters between the arts, humanities, social sciences, and hard sciences and engineering be fostered? 

Contributors include:

Pippa Goldschmidt, Science Fiction Author
Simon Ings, Arts Editor of the New Scientist
Ken MacLeod, Science Fiction Author
Stephen Oram, Science Fiction Author
Jennifer Rohn, Founder of LabLit.com
Geoff Ryman, Science Fiction Author

This event is part of the project 'Transforming Future Science through Science Fiction', run by Dr Christine Aicardi, Science and Technology Studies researcher at King’s College London, in collaboration with near-future fiction writer Stephen Oram and Virtual Futures. The project saw science fiction authors Pippa Goldschmidt, Stephen Oram and Geoff Ryman collaborate with scientists at King’s College London to adapt cutting-edge research into short stories. The project is supported by the Cultural Institute at King's College London and the Human Brain Project, under European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme.

Schedule

18:00 – 18:30: Registration
18:30 – 19:30: Panel Disucssion
19:30 – 20:00: Audience Q&A
20:00 – 20:30: Drinks