In Conversation with former Anonymous and Lulzsec hacktivists
Real Time Club meeting at the Royal Court Theatre to hear Gabriella Coleman, academic and anthropologist, in conversation with former Anonymous and Lulzsec hacktivists.
Dinners
Every year the Real Time Club runs a series of dinners with distinguished speakers on current issues of the information age. Dinners are held under the Chatham House rule and robust and well-informed debate is explicitly encouraged.
Real Time Club dinners are open to non-members and everyone is welcome to attend.
RTC Dinner on The Edge of Uncertainty (24 June 2014)
If you’re working at the frontiers of knowledge, timing is everything …
You can have great ideas, brilliant people and all the funding you need, but if you’re too far ahead of your time, the project won’t give you the pay-off you seek.
Epigenetics, quantum biology, psychoneuroimmunology and computational cosmology are just some of the scientific fields taking off in the 21st century, but they have all at some time in the past been championed by people now lost to history.
The burden of bad timing is sometimes hard to bear: in science it has resulted in lost fortunes, public opprobrium, irredeemably tarnished reputations, depression and even suicide. Get your timing right, though, and the prize can be immortality.
So, how do you survive the dangers of working at the edge of uncertainty?
RTC Dinner on Charting Extraordinary Futures (18 March 2014)
Charting Extraordinary Futures – James Martin and The Oxford Martin School
“We are at an extraordinary crossroads of human history. Our actions, or failure to act, during the next 20 years will determine the fate of the Earth and human civilization for centuries to come. This is a make-or-break century.” Dr James Martin, from ‘The Meaning of the 21st Century’ (2009).
RTC Dinner on Cyber Security (18 February 2014)
A Real Time Club Dinner – Debate on Cyber Security
“Nobody is telling the truth about cyber security – not even when they think they know what the truth is!”
As far as cyber security is concerned a large part of the problem is ‘Nobody is telling the truth about cyber security – not even when they think they know what the truth is!’ according to our debate proposer, Philip Virgo.
RTC dinner on Quantum Computing (17 December 2013)
Unfortunately our December dinner with Prof Jeremy O’Brien had to be cancelled.
The Club Committee would like to apologise sincerely for the inconvenience.
We wish all our members, friends and guests a merry Christmas and a happy New Year, and we hope to welcome you back to our next dinner in February 2014.
RTC Dinner on Big Data (29 October 2013)
Big Data – A big problem with big solutions for big money?
Big data is the often misused term for a collection of data sets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to capture, curate, store, search, share, transfer, analyse, visualise and, actually, pretty-much anything unless you’re a real expert (mathematician) with expert tools.
RTC Dinner on Expansive Education (24 September 2013)
Expansive Education – what it is and how it could help UK IT to thrive
The current English educational system is dominated by a political obsession with testing and curriculum reorganisation.
Many believe Government and educators have stopped thinking intelligently about what the broader goals of education in the 21st century are and how these can be best be delivered by schools.
RTC Dinner on Bitcoin (18 June 2013)
Bitcoin – The Future of Money & Payments?
Bitcoin has been in the news in 2013. To understand Bitcoin, you must understand money. Bitcoin, like gold, has properties that make it an excellent form of money. However, unlike gold, Bitcoin can actually be used in our modern economy for making digital payments.
Bitcoin has the potential to be the third ‘major way’ to buy and sell goods and services that the world has ever known, after bartered goods and government-backed fiat money. (It is important to understand that 97% of money used today is already digital.)
Governments are now taking an interest in Bitcoin; the first formal presentation of Bitcoin to the UK Government was made at the BIS sponsored ‘Future of Money’ conference on 13 May 2013.
Real Time Club 45th Anniversary – Dinner at the House of Lords (18 April 2013)
Building a Silicon Brain – The SpiNNaker project
We celebrate our 45 anniversary with a dinner at the House of Lords on the 18th of April 2013. Professor Stephen Furber will give a presentation of his €400m ‘SpiNNaker’ project to build a ‘silicon brain’ made up of a million ARM chips. Dick Evans, one of the last three active founders will propose the toast to the Club.
The RTC Anniversary Dinner is hosted at the House of Lords by Lord Lucas of Crudwell and Dingwall at the House of Lords.
RTC Dinner on Cybersecurity (19 March 2013)
Cybersecurity – the same old same old?
2013 promises to be an interesting year for the world of cybersecurity: there is no doubt the same old same old attacks will continue to happen on a second-by-second basis.
Businesses and individuals that don’t concentrate on even the basics will continue to fall victim to even simple attacks; it’s estimated that every year cybercrime costs the UK economy £27bn with UK businesses losing £21bn, affecting more than 1.8million people. IP theft and espionage are – believe it or not – the greatest threats at £9.2bn and £7.5bn in 2012!