‘Which Way to Techno-Utopia?’

On Monday May 23 I am taking part in a panel discussion at the Free Word Centre in London. Presented under the auspices of Little Atoms,‘Which Way to Techno-Utopia?’ promises to be a really quite an occasion. It’s chaired by genial Hollingsville contributor Becky Hogge so should be nothing if not lively. Tickets cost £5 (£3 concessions) and you’d be well advised to book in advance via the Free Word intelligent tickets service. Hope to see you there. In the meantime, the following Little Atoms release should give you all the information you need:

Over the last century technology has evolved exponentially and has changed our lives in ways that are too numerous to count. But what effect does technology have on wider society? How has it changed the ways we interact and communicate? Does technology have the capacity to change fundamentally who we are as human beings? Has technology freed us, or have we become its slaves? And what of the future? Will technology save or harm the planet?

Joining us to discuss these questions and more are

Gia Milinovitch

Gia Milinovich is a presenter, writer and blogger, specializing mainly in new media and film. She has an acute knowledge of computers, technology, the Internet and science. She has worked in a technical capacity on major blockbusters including The X-Files: I Want to Believe, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and 28 Weeks Later, and created the ‘behind the scenes’ website for the critically-acclaimed sci-fi film Sunshine. She advised on and appeared in the 2009 BBC programme Electric Dreams.

Angela Saini

Angela Saini is an independent science journalist based in London, she has written for New Scientist, Wired, The Economist and leading scientific journals in the UK and the US. Her first television science documentary aired in November 2008, and she can be regularly heard reporting on technology issues for the BBC World Service radio show ‘Digital Planet’. She was named European Young Science Writer of the Year in 2009. bilingual English and Hindi speaker, she previously worked in India for The Hindu newspaper group. Angela is the author of Geek Nation: How Indian Science is Taking Over the World.

Ken Hollings

Ken Hollings is a writer based in London. His work draws freely upon trash culture, weird science, political intrigue and strange connections to reconfigure reality and demolish common assumptions. His work appears in a wide range of journals and publications, including The Wire, Sight and Sound and Strange Attractor. He has written and presented critically acclaimed programmes for BBC Radio 3, Radio 4, Resonance FM, NPS in Holland and ABC Australia. He is the author of Welcome to Mars: Science and the American Century 1947-1959 and Destroy All Monsters. Ken’s most recent project for Radio 3 was Requiem for The Network, a series of essays on the history, power and revolutionary change of information networks.


Chair: Becky Hogge

Little Atoms

Little Atoms is a radio show about ideas and culture with an emphasis on ideas of the Enlightenment. We actively promote science, freedom of expression, scepticism and secular humanism. Little Atoms is broadcast every Friday evening at 7pm on Resonance 104.4fm, and is subsequently available as a podcast via iTunes. Find out more at www.littleatoms.com and follow us on Twitter at @littleatoms.

Free Word Centre
60 Farringdon Road
London
EC1R 3GA

020 7324 2570
info@freewordonline.com

Pictured above: ‘Et In Utopia Sum’, courtesy of roving shutterbug Kitty Keen