BRIGHTHINK: In Conversation

BRIGHTHINK
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Live recordings from BRIGHTHINK, a Brighton-based events series for curious minds — featuring conversations with leading academics, journalists and authors on ideas that challenge assumptions and spark curiosity - covering a wide range of topics including science, philosophy, culture and politics. To attend a live recording in Brighton visit www.Brighthink.org or https://linktr.ee/brighthink.org to purchase tickets for future events

  1. Sep 8

    The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI

    In modern tech parlance, a centaur is someone who uses technology to become a better, more productive version of themselves. A reverse centaur, by contrast, is someone forced by technology to work at an inhuman pace: a driver expected to deliver non-stop all day; a warehouse worker denied time for food or bathroom breaks; a programmer pressured to produce impossible amounts of code. How did we arrive at this situation, and how can we move beyond it to a life “after” AI, in which our tools work for us rather than the other way around? Celebrated author and technology critic, Cory Doctorow, discusses his latest book – The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI – with award-winning journalist, Carole Cadwalladr . Building on the ideas behind his influential concept of Enshittification — the process by which digital platforms gradually become worse for users as corporations tighten their grip — Doctorow argues that we need to understand this latest technology not only for what it does, but also for whom it does it and whose interests it serves. Recorded live at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange, 8th September 2026. CORY DOCTOROW Cory is a blogger, journalist, and author who served as co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. He is an activist in favour of liberalising copyright laws and a proponent of the Creative Commons organisation, using some of its licences for his books. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. His most recent books include Enshittification and The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI. CAROLE CADWALLADR Carole is an author, investigative journalist, features writer, and one of the founders of the online culture, politics and technology publication The Nerve. She was a features writer for The Observer and formerly worked at The Daily Telegraph. She was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for her role in exposing the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal.

    The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI

  2. Sep 8 ·  Bonus

    The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI (Bonus Material - Q&A)

    This is an edited version of the audience Q&A with Cory Doctorow, which took place after the interview with Carole Cadwalladr. At Cory's request, it was conducted without a roaming mic for the audience, and therefore Cory recaps the question, before answering each one. We thought these extra 25mins of discussion about Cory's work, and AI, were worthy of inclusion here, so please enjoy. Recorded live at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange, 8th September 2026.

    The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI (Bonus Material - Q&A)

  3. May 19

    BEYOND BELIEF: How Evidence Shows What Really Works

    For many years, most medical advice was based on doctors’ opinions and conventional wisdom, not solid science. Evidence-based medicine swept the world in the 1990s, becoming the predominant form of medicine practiced today, and the idea that evidence can guide decisions is quietly transforming a host of other fields as well. Join Helen Pearson as she discusses her new book, Beyond Belief, and underscores the importance of evidence in all facets of our lives, especially in a time when science is under attack and questionable claims run rampant. Recorded live at The Nightingale Room, Brighton, 19th May 2026. HELEN PEARSON Helen has been a journalist and editor for Nature, the world’s leading science journal, for over 20 years, including five years leading the team as Chief Magazine Editor. She is also an Honorary Professor of Practice at University College London. Her first book, The Life Project, was named best science book of the year by The Observer, and book of the year for The Economist. Prof. ADRIAN ELY Adrian is Professor of Technology & Sustainability and Director of Policy Training & Executive Education at SPRU (the Science Policy Research Unit), in the University of Sussex Business School. He is interested in how societies respond to different kinds of uncertainty, and much of his research focuses on the regulation and governance of emerging (bio)technologies.

    BEYOND BELIEF: How Evidence Shows What Really Works

  4. Apr 27

    The 21st CENTURY BRAIN: Cutting Edge Neuroscience to Help Us Navigate the Future

    How do we nurture our own — and our children’s — brains so we can thrive amid rapid technological and societal change? How do we not just survive, but flourish, in the age of AI? Let neuroscientist Dr Hannah Critchlow take you on a fascinating journey through the latest discoveries in brain science as she explores the ideas behind her new book, The 21st Century Brain. Drawing on cutting-edge research, she reveals why the skills that matter most in the decades ahead are curiosity, compassion, communication, courage and creativity. Rather than competing with machines, she argues, we must lean into what makes us distinct — our capacity to collaborate, to intuit, to empathise and to imagine. In a world increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, our greatest advantage lies not in thinking more like machines, but in becoming more fully human. Recorded live at The Nightingale Room, Brighton, 27th April 2026. HANNAH CRITCHLOW Hannah is a neuroscientist, science communicator and a Fellow at Magdalene College, University of Cambridge. Her research explores neuropsychiatric disorders and the biological basis of behaviour. She has presented numerous science documentaries for the BBC , and is the author of popular science books including Joined-Up Thinking and The Science of Fate. SARAH KING Sarah is Professor of Behavioural Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, where she researches how genetic and environmental factors shape brain function and behaviour. Her work focuses particularly on cognitive ageing, dementia, and mechanisms of resilience in brain health.

    The 21st CENTURY BRAIN: Cutting Edge Neuroscience to Help Us Navigate the Future

  5. Mar 23

    OUR INCOMPLETE UNIVERSE: The Search for the Theory of Everything

    On the largest scales, gravity shapes galaxies and bends space-time. On the smallest, quantum mechanics governs a strange world of uncertainty and probability. Both frameworks are extraordinarily successful. There’s just one problem: they don’t work together. This tension sits at the heart of modern physics. When we try to describe extreme environments - black holes, the Big Bang - our best theories break down. So what’s missing? Is space-time truly fundamental, or something that emerges from deeper laws? Is our Universe the only one, or just one of many? In the search for a “Theory of Everything,” physicists are exploring bold ideas - from string theory to multiverses, even the possibility that reality itself may be more surprising than we imagine. Join Dr Katy Clough and Prof Toby Wiseman for a fascinating conversation at the frontier of physics, as they explore where our current theories succeed, where they fail, and what these cracks might reveal about the true nature of reality. Recorded live at The Nightingale Room, Brighton, 23rd March, 2026. DR KATY CLOUGH Katy is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Mathematical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, and an STFC Ernest Rutherford Research Fellow
Lead for Research Innovation.
 Her research focusses on testing the limits of general relativity and the Standard Model of particle physics, in particular using the numerical simulations of the early Universe and the interaction of fundamental fields and particles with black holes. PROF TOBY WISEMAN Toby is a Professor of Theoretical Physics at Imperial College London. His research focuses on fundamental aspects of gravity, black holes and quantum field theory. He is particularly interested in understanding space-time and gravitation at the smallest and largest scales, and also how string theory combines Einstein's theory of gravity with quantum mechanics. CHAIR Anish Ghoshal is a theoretical physicist at the University of Sussex, specialising in particle physics, cosmology and gravity. His research focuses on the origins of our universe related to questions about the dark matter, matter-antimatter asymmetry, and gravity.

    OUR INCOMPLETE UNIVERSE: The Search for the Theory of Everything

  6. Mar 2

    THESE STRANGE NEW MINDS: How AI Learned to Talk and What it Means

    Stunning advances in digital technology have given us a new wave of disarmingly human-like AI systems. Chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini put the knowledge of all the world’s experts at our fingertips, and can generate meaningful sentences, equations and computer code. The march of this new technology is set to upturn our economies, challenge our democracies, and refashion society in unpredictable ways. We can expect these AI systems to soon be making autonomous decisions on the user’s behalf, with transformative impact on everything we do. It is vital we understand how they work. Can AI systems ‘think’, ‘know’ and ‘understand’? Whose interests do they ultimately represent? And when will they be able to move beyond words and take actions for themselves in the real world?Join neuroscientist and AI researcher Christopher Summerfield, as he discusses how these strange new minds work, with Prof. Ron Chrisley and grapples with the existential question of our age: can we look forward to a technological utopia, or are we in the process of writing ourselves out of history? Recorded Live at The Nightingale Room, Brighton, 2nd March 2026. CHRISTOPHER SUMMERFIELD Chris is Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford and an AI research scientist. His work focusses on the neural and computational mechanisms by which humans make decisions. RON CHRISLEY Ron is Professor of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence at the School of Engineering and Informatics, Sussex University. His areas of research include metacognition in neural networks, social and ethical issues of AI and machine consciousness.

    THESE STRANGE NEW MINDS: How AI Learned to Talk and What it Means

  7. Feb 17

    IN SEARCH OF NOW: The Science and Mystery of the Present Moment

    What if the present moment – the ‘now’ we all inhabit – isn’t just a tick of the clock? We feel that the present is everything; all we can know. Yet physics finds no universal ’now’. Jo Marchant discusses her new book, In Search of Now, with Prof Robyn Waller and shows how we each carve out our lived experience – sensations and emotions, actions and decisions – through our interactions with the world. Far from being an illusion or a mere slice of time, she argues that this evolving, interconnected tapestry is the source of our lives and selves, and perhaps even reality itself. Jo explores the secrets of how our lives really unfold and draws on state-of-the-art discoveries in neuroscience, psychology, cosmology and quantum physics, to reveal a dynamic, creative process in which we all play a part. Recorded live at the Nightingale Room, Brighton, 17th February 2026. JO MARCHANT Jo is an award-winning science journalist and author. She has a PhD in genetics and medical microbiology – and has previously worked as a senior editor at New Scientist and at Nature. Her articles have appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Guardian and Smithsonian magazine. ROBYN WALLER Robyn is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Sussex, affiliated with the Sussex Centre for Consciousness Science and Sussex AI. She is also a member of the Council for the Royal Institute of Philosophy and works primarily in philosophy of cognitive science and metaphysics.

    IN SEARCH OF NOW: The Science and Mystery of the Present Moment

  8. Feb 11

    BEYOND THE ALGORITHM: Understanding AI's Power to Shape Our Economy, Culture & Future

    AI systems now write code, generate images, produce news content, and increasingly make decisions that affect everyday life—from what we see online to how businesses operate and resources are allocated. What once felt experimental is now embedded in the tools, platforms, and institutions many of us rely on, often in ways that are invisible but deeply influential. This rapid integration has been matched by an intense media narrative: AI as breakthrough, AI as threat, AI as inevitable force reshaping work, creativity, and society itself. Headlines promise transformation or warn of disruption, yet the reality is more complex than either story suggests. Understanding where the technology truly is—and what its impacts actually look like—requires stepping beyond the hype. Recorded live at the Nightingale Room, Brighton, 10th February 2026. PROF RON CHRISLEY Ron is Professor of Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence at the School of Engineering and Informatics, Sussex University. His areas of research include: metacognition in neural networks, social and ethical issues of AI, social robotics, machine consciousness, quantum machine learning and applied logic. DR MARK KENNEDY Mark is Director of the Data Science Institute at Imperial College London, teaching across Ph.D., Masters, and Executive programmes. His research examines how AI and other technologies diffuse through organisations and society, shaping work, innovation, and social practices, and he develops methods like text and network analysis to study these processes. OLI SHARPE Oli is the creator and host of Go Meta, a YouTube channel and blog focused on exploring the "metacrisis"—complex, interconnected global issues—through a lens of philosophy, rationality, and the societal impact of AI (Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdmgV-gku1RPUUt9lEtkJmg)

    BEYOND THE ALGORITHM: Understanding AI's Power to Shape Our Economy, Culture & Future
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Live recordings from BRIGHTHINK, a Brighton-based events series for curious minds — featuring conversations with leading academics, journalists and authors on ideas that challenge assumptions and spark curiosity - covering a wide range of topics including science, philosophy, culture and politics. To attend a live recording in Brighton visit www.Brighthink.org or https://linktr.ee/brighthink.org to purchase tickets for future events

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