In the lead-up to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s AI Safety Summit last week, Cambridge leveraged its status as the UK’s most ‘AI-ready’ city by inviting the general public to engage in a novel dialogue about the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in society. Citizens were encouraged to join discussions on a specially designed double-decker bus in the heart of the city to express their expectations and concerns regarding AI’s growing presence in daily life.

This initiative was a collaborative effort by the University of Cambridge’s ai@cam initiative, the Kavli Centre for Ethics, Science, and the Public, and the Accelerate Programme for Scientific Discovery. The Kavli Centre’s artistically crafted Hopes and Fears Lab, fashioned from cardboard to stimulate creative thinking, served as the venue for these discussions. This mobile lab not only created a unique environment for public engagement but also acted as a prelude to a similar event at the British Library later in the month as part of the AI Fringe events surrounding the summit.

During the event in Cambridge’s Parker’s Piece, participants were paired with AI experts for 15-minute chats about various AI-related aspects that impact our lives, including employment, creativity, health, education, and security. To facilitate these exchanges, attendees had the opportunity to choose specific topics of interest.

The conversations were not only recorded through videos and social media but also through live sketches by artist Tom McLean, who designed the lab setup. Jessica Montgomery, Director of ai@cam, emphasized the significance of the Hopes and Fears Lab as a dynamic and engaging platform that contributes to the broader global discourse on AI’s future.

Featured image: Credit: University of Cambridge