A thought provoking tour de force - March 25 - 4.00pm - 2022

Professor A C Grayling considers technology, climate and rights

The title was a tad intimidating, especially on such a gorgeous Friday afternoon. After all… ‘Technology, Climate, Justice and Rights: Can We Get the Whole World To Agree On Any of Them?’ is a big ask when you’re in t-shirt and sandal mode. But if anyone can do it, Professor A C Grayling is clearly leading the competition. For starters, it is always astonishing when someone delivers an intricate, complex and mosaic talk without a single reference to notes (indeed, I don’t believe Grayling used any ). But furthermore, when so much of what a speaker delivers is purposeful, weighty and succinct in equal measure, you can’t help but close down all other outside distractions in order to simply…listen. Which in this particular case meant chewing over every sentence and weighing every pause, while desperately trying to digest its significance (although it was clear from Grayling’s opening words that not everyone has always agreed with his take on life. “I always stand by the lecturn,” he explained “in case someone throws a shoe. Which shows we can learn from history…”). On this occasion however there was rapt attention. Subjects as alarming as climate change and Artificial Intelligence were exquisitely dissected and again and again we were left reeling from Grayson’s insights. For instance, how DO we take action to mitigate sea rises, floods and disease caused by climate change. Or the threats posed by new technologies such as genetic engineering of foetuses? All in all, fascinating, sobering and uncomfortably alarming…