May 2024
Exploring a future powered by AI
Welcome to the start of a new term.
I am looking forward to this term’s theme, Artificial Intelligence (AI). It’s a topic that is rarely out of the press and is often cast as a hero or villain, but that angle can limit our understanding of its potential. AI has already impacted all areas of society. We’ll be exploring some of these in the next few months.
We are kicking off this term with Dr Emily C Collins, who will be talking about Human Interactions and Implications for Ethical and Responsible RAI (Robotics and AI).
Partnership events
I had the pleasure of attending this year’s Percival Lecture by Professor Jade Munslow Ong. Her presentation style was engaging and powerful, allowing people new to Modernism to leave with a new understanding, and the more adroit to deepen and explore the movement further. I would also like to thank everyone involved, both from the University of Salford and our own team, for all their hard work which resulted in a welcoming and perfectly executed event.
As you know from my previous posts, everyone is working hard to raise the profile of Manchester Lit & Phil. One of the projects in the pipeline is our involvement in the big, free festival, We Invented the Weekend. This new partnership is a great opportunity for us to find new audiences for our events. Look out for further updates on the talks we will be co-hosting with the University of Salford.
Working together to secure our future
During April, there has been a lot of activity to define several workstreams to prepare the Society for the future. These projects will run through May, they will look at other organisations, talk to members and then present their findings to the trustees in June. If required, the recommendation will be to go to an EGM / AGM.
We will be sharing further details about these projects with our membership soon via the member’s newsletter: Your Manchester Lit & Phil.
And finally, if you’re not yet a member but are interested in volunteering, we’d love to hear from you. Send an email to volunteers@manlitphil.ac.uk
Thanks for your continued support.
Peter Wright
President