Nesta UK

Listen back to highlights from Nesta Education 2019: Shaping the future, shifting the system.

Listen back to highlights from Nesta Education 2019: Shaping the future, shifting the system.

Listen back to highlights from Nesta Education 2019: Shaping the future, shifting the system.

Listen back to highlights from Nesta Education 2019: Shaping the future, shifting the system.

With a recent piece of artwork created using artificial intelligence (AI) selling for $432,500 at Christie’slast year, creative AI is now well and truly entering the mainstream. Could an algorithm ever write a song to move you to tears, or win the Turner Prize? Maybe, but beyond the hype, how can AI enable new forms of human expression and enhance our own creativity? Joining Nesta’s Nige...

In the second episode of Future Curious, we ask the question - should we give up on exams? As technology transforms the world we live in, is the education system doing enough to keep up? Students at school today will have to find their feet in a very different workplace as the rate of automation increases and working structures change. How can we make sure children today are equipped with the skil...

Nesta recently held an event showcasing ten predictions for 2019 covering health, the future of the working week, the deepening role of artificial intelligence in our lives and more. Each year, Nesta experts identify the trends, tech breakthroughs and social movements they expect to gain traction in the following twelve months. This year's predictions once more covered technologies and trends that...

What will the future cities of 2040 really look like? Electric drive technology, autonomy and AI could fundamentally change the way we work and live. With drone technology advancing rapidly, cities now have a unique opportunity to shape this disruptive new mode of transport - to maximise the economic and social benefits it could bring, whilst ensuring safety. Joining Nesta's Nigel Campbell to disc...

With so much coverage of declining public confidence in democratic institutions, how can a new generation of policymakers use tech to engage with citizens, make better decisions and rebuild trust? Joining Nesta's Nigel Campbell to discuss this are Tanja Aitamurto, Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago and author of Crowdsourcing for Democracy: A New Era in Policy-Making, The...

In the first episode of Future Curious, we look at harnessing the power of the world brain - how can Collective Intelligence be used to solve our greatest problems?

Are you curious about what our shared future holds? If so, the new Future Curious podcast from Nesta could be right up your street. In this thought-provoking but chatty podcast, we bring together leading experts and radical thinkers to discuss the big issues that will affect our future, and what we can all do about them. Each week, Future Curious will bring new insights, challenge existing wisdom...

Thinking of submitting an application for the Social Movements for Health programme? Listen to our briefing webinar to find out more about the types of projects we're looking to support and the application process.

Every year we publish a series of predictions on the trends, social movements and tech breakthroughs we think will make it big over the coming 12 months. In this podcast, Louise Marston, Director of Innovation Policy and Futures at Nesta, introduces our fifth set of predictions for the year ahead. This year’s list includes collaborations between the arts and retail sectors, new uses of audio techn...

Edward Snowden joins us via Google hangout, which fuels a discussion on government surveillance with Primavera De Filippi, a research fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School; Ian Brown of Oxford University's Cyber Security Centre; and curator Pat Kane. And software developer Dan Williams explores the boundaries of CCTV. The podcast features music by: Black Ant Mes...

In episode eleven of our FutureFest podcast we return to the Future Music theme. George Clinton talks to Ekow Eshun about his legendary music career. Joana Seguro of Artists & Engineers and musician Stevie Wishart discuss social media music communities. And BitterSuite brings us a 4-D sensory symphony. This podcast features music from BitterSuite, “Melt” by Broke For Free, and "Planet Zero" by Jah...

Barry Eichengreen discusses financial reform, Dave Boyle tells us why the sharing economy isn’t about sharing, and Owen Jones is hopeful for a more democratic economy. Music credits: Broke for Free - Melt, The Moss - Cosmo Sheldrake. Podcast presented by Emily Elias. Download a transcript of this podcast here: http://www.nesta.org.uk/sites/default/files/futurefest-podcast-10-money-transcript.pdf T...

In episode nine of our FutureFest we return to the Future Global theme. Artist Sophia Al-Maria talks about Gulf Futurism, lecturer and artist Tegan Bristow questions the relevance of the term Afrofuturism outside of the USA and musician and filmmaker Spoek Mathambo considers the future sound of South Africa. A transcript of this episode is available at: http://www.nesta.org.uk/sites/default/files/...

In episode eight of the FutureFest podcast we return to our Future Thrills theme and consider what we’re likely to be consuming in the future. Food futurologist Dr Morgaine Gaye introduces the next generation of vending machines, including the cupcake ATM; award-winning mixologist Ryan Chetiyawardana explores some interesting possible new methods of nutrient delivery through alcohol; and journalis...

In the seventh episode of the FutureFest podcast we return to our Future Machines theme. Jon Ronson recalls his various conversations with sentient robots (and their programmers), UCL’s Leo Cohen considers a world where we outsource our decision making to artificial intelligence and retails futures expert Eva Pascoe argues the need for a return to Renaissance attitudes to art and technology in ord...

In the sixth episode of our FutureFest podcast our speakers look at power, politics and democracy. Owen Jones, bestselling author of 'The Establishment' and 'Chavs', puts forward the idea of a new politics of hope to change our society. Baroness Helena Kennedy QC considers where power lies in today's world, and why the nation state may have had its day. On a slightly different tack, 'The Economist...

Machine learning algorithms are a set of computerised techniques for recognising patterns in data and ‘learn’ to predict outcomes based on those patterns. These powerful techniques are transforming many aspects of our lives but the biggest changes are yet to come. Greater computing power, larger datasets and improvements to the algorithms are opening up many new opportunities. Personalised medicin...

In the fifth episode of our FutureFest podcast we ask what music is and what it will be. We probably don't need more love songs: musician and producer Matthew Herbert talks to Pat Kane about the crisis of ideas and why technology needs to be a little less perfect. Musicologist Adam Harper considers how music is more than just sound in a talk that involves ancient German bone-flutes. And we hear fr...

In our fourth FutureFest podcast, we explore the concept and future of money. Did you know your £1 coin isn’t technically worth £1? Or that the largest coin still in use on the Micronesian island of Yap is 12-foot across and made of stone? Author and journalist John Lanchester draws on fascinating examples to demonstrate what makes money money. And have you ever considered that your bodily fluids...

In the third episode of our FutureFest podcast, we explore what’s shaping Africa’s near future. Ore Disu, Executive Director of Nsibidi Institute - based in Lagos, Nigeria, discusses the city’s challenges and opportunities; Fabian-Carlos Guhl introduces us to the Venture Bus, which picks up aspiring entrepreneurs on its route across the continent; and Thomas Aquilina discusses his photography, whi...

Tune in to the second episode of our FutureFest podcast, which asks how far we’ll go to get our kicks in the future. Paul Dolan, author of Happiness By Design, explores what happiness is and how to find it, Professor Adrian Cheok looks at the future of thrill-seeking as we start to augment all five of our senses with virtual reality, and comedian Dan Schreiber (the man behind the popular No such t...