AI expert warns against telling your secrets to chatbots such as ChatGPT
Science Weekly
Can machines ever be like us? Prof Michael Wooldridge on the future of AI – podcast
August 2023
The professor’s great fear about AI? That it becomes the boss from hell
Some concerns about artificial intelligence are very speculative, but there are genuine risks, says the man aiming to demystify the technology in the Royal Institution Christmas lectures
September 2022
Forensic anthropologist Sue Black: ‘The body is really just layers upon layers of memory’
Exclusive: The professor chosen to deliver Royal Institution Christmas lectures talks about a fascination with anatomy that goes back to plucking pheasants as a child
November 2021
Royal Institution cancels event with far-right French pundit Éric Zemmour
Function in London cancelled over ‘due diligence’ of Zemmour, who has convictions for inciting racial hatred
September 2021
‘We haven’t finished the job’: JVT reflects on 18 months of Covid
Exclusive: Listen to the experts, says deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam, not the celebrities
January 2021
Other lives
Graham Hoare obituary
Other lives: Maths teacher involved in setting up the Royal Institution’s mathematical masterclasses
November 2020
Sir John Meurig Thomas obituary
World-renowned chemist with a flair for communicating science to a wider audience
August 2020
'I'm up for the fight': Chris Jackson to be first black scientist to give Christmas lecture
Covid is 'restart button' for climate action, Royal Institution Christmas lecturers say
June 2020
Peter Day obituary
Chemist whose study of the way atoms transfer energy within materials led to the creation of lithium ion batteries and solar cells
August 2019
Maths and tech specialists need Hippocratic oath, says academic
Exclusive: Hannah Fry says ethical pledge needed in tech fields that will shape future
November 2018
David Attenborough appeals to UK public to help find lost Christmas Lectures
The Royal Institution’s scientific talk series was first broadcast by the BBC in 1936 – but 31 episodes are missing
December 2017
Observer New Review Q&A
Sophie Scott: ‘Laughter works as a behaviourally contagious phenomenon’
The neuroscientist giving this year’s Royal Institution Christmas lectures on doing standup comedy and why rats laugh
September 2017
Fresh troubles for Royal Institution as director resigns after less than four months
Professor Sarah Harper took over as director in May; her resignation has been followed by the departure of three other senior staff members
August 2017
'Emojis enhance human interactions' argues Royal Institution lecturer
Exclusive: the neuroscientist will give the Royal Institution Christmas lectures on the evolution of language - and explain why gifs and emojis aren’t stupid
May 2017
Don't call people 'old' until death is near, says gerontologist
Royal Institution's new director Sarah Harper: we must show gold standard for science
December 2016
Saiful Islam: ‘You need more than one electric eel to light a Christmas tree’
Chemistry professor Saiful Islam on his plans to show ‘electricity in the raw’ during his Royal Institution Christmas Lectures – with the help of 1,000 lemons
August 2016
Chemistry professor to leave audience in dark at Christmas lectures
Saiful Islam, professor of materials chemistry at Bath University, plans energy-sourcing stunt at Royal Institution event
