FutureFest Late May 2019 - Jim Al-Khalili - Inventing the Future

Inventing the Future: can sci-fi predict the shape of things to come? Listen to this recording from our first FutureFest Late as we were joined by the host of BBC Radio 4’s The Life Scientific, Jim Al-Khalili and presenter, writer and comedian Timandra Harkness. At a time of mounting anxiety about the powerful influence that technologists and scientists are exerting over our future, does fiction allow scientists to have a more truthful conversation with the public about charged ethical issues? Or does it just serve as a form of escapism to numb our fears about the future?​​ From dark matter to quantum biology we explore the appeal of science fiction to scientists, and whether it can help us predict the future. What are FutureFest Lates? FutureFest Lates offer a taste of Futurefest. Through a distinctive mix of installations, talks and debates, Lates offers audiences an opportunity to imagine and lay claim to a different vision of what might lie ahead. For more info, see www.futurefest.org/lates