Visions of the Future
Class 4
Wednesday 30th March 2022
This programme examines some of the key areas in which our world is changing in the 21st century, and the implications this has for our lives and our societies, as well as exploring how people have responded throughout history to periods of great change – culturally, politically, philosophically, socially.
In our fourth and final class, we’ll conclude our exploration of some of the key applications and issues around artificial intelligence: we’ll find out about how AI might help us tackle the climate crisis, and we’ll dig deeper into some of the ethical dilemmas raised by the use of AI in medicine. Then, turning back from our current era of rapid and radical change, we’ll step back in time to see how past societies have responded to periods of disruption, with a timely look at how medieval societies responded the Black Death pandemic of the 14th century. And finally, we will look further at how the use of computers can aid and enhance our knowledge and understanding in a number of fields, from mathematics and psychology, to the use of digital modelling in the Humanities.
How to approach this Class
It is completely up to you how you approach the contents of this class – you may want to look at each article in sequence, or browse through those which interest you most. You can work your way through the material in your own time, and fit it around your schoolwork and other commitments. Each article also comes with links to further reading, videos, podcasts, and more, so you can explore in greater depth the topics that interest you most.
Share With Us
You can share your answers to any of the challenges in this class – or responses to any other articles you have read – to be in with a chance of winning Amazon gift vouchers! Responses could be in the form of a drawing, a mini-essay, a photograph, a video – anything you like.
Click here to share your work, and for full details!
All entries received by Wednesday 27th April 2022 will be entered into this month’s prize draw, and your work may also be featured on Inspire Digital and in future editions of the course.
You can submit as much or as little as you like – so please feel free to send us responses to multiple challenges or articles if you like!
Think Critically!
Over the course of the last three months of this programme, you’ve read a lot about “Visions of the Future” by our contributors here at St John’s, and have been provided with several activities and challenges. We’ve looked at the theme from a range of different subjects, from Classics to Computer Science, and from English to Engineering.
However, now we want to know what you think! As you explore the articles and resources in this final class, and as you look back through the previous three classes, think critically about what you’re reading, watching, and listening to. What do you agree with? What do you disagree with – and why? What is your Vision of the Future?