Over the next months we’re dedicating the first half of our branch meetings to the subject of artificial intelligence. We’ve got a number of speakers lined up to give us a 20-25 minute introduction, which will be followed by free discussion. We feel that as technologists we have useful things to say about the profound impact AI is having on society, including on our working lives, and that our branch is an ideal place to host these debates.
Branch meetings are only open to branch members or invited guests such as our guest speakers. You can join Unite the Union here.
Our branch meetings are hybrid in-person/online. For this series we’re inviting all members of Unite to attend on Zoom – registration links below. We meet on the evening of the second Thursday of the month. Please get in touch if you have any questions. All meetings begin at 6.30pm.
14 September
AI in the entertainment industry: How creators are tackling issues around regulation and ethics in performance synthesisation through their unions, and what the implications are for the future of work
Our speaker will be Marcus Hutton, a professional actor and voice artist with 40 years of experience and is a performers’ rights activist. He has been a member of the Equity trade union’s Audio Committee since 2017, and launched the Stop AI Stealing the Show campaign in 2022.
12 October
Artificial intelligence and technology at work
Mary Towers is the Trades Union Congress (TUC) Policy Officer responsible for AI and technology. She’s been at the forefront of defining the TUC’s AI Manifesto and liaising with trade unions, politicians and industry experts to ensure that workers’ rights are respected in the scramble to deploy AI into business and the public sector.
9 November
AI: Bright new future or a threat to our jobs and existence? A workers’ and trade union perspective
John Parrington is Associate Professor in Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Oxford and a member of the University and Colleges Union (UCU), and author of Consciousness: How Our Brains Turn Matter into Meaning.
14 December
Break for Christmas social!
11 January
What should we build AI for? An insider’s view
Claire Vernade is a Group Leader at the University of Tuebingen, Germany, in the Cluster of Excellence Machine Learning for Science and an ex-member of Unite, having previously worked building AI in industry. She therefore brings a rare perspective on the potentials for AI.