• Date and time: Tuesday 3 June 2025, 7pm to 8pm
  • Location: Online only
  • Admission: Free admission, booking required

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Event details

Digital technologies like computers, smartphones and AI take existing ideas, data and processes and turn them into something new, apparently solving the problems of the modern age. But are these technologies really solving the right problems? And who gets to make decisions around this technology?

Join in the conversation as Siobhan Dunlop and Steph Jesper of the University of York and Susan Halfpenny of the University of Aberdeen ask the question: we're living in the technological future, but is it the one we want?

This event will take place live on Zoom Webinar. You will receive a link to join a couple of days before the event and a reminder an hour before. During the event, you can ask questions via a Q&A function, but audience cameras and microphones will remain muted throughout.

Image credit: Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash

About the speakers

Siobhan Dunlop is a Teaching and Learning Advisor within Library, Learning, Archives and Wellbeing at the University of York, developing and delivering digital skills training for students and staff with a focus on digital creativity and coding. They also work on the ways in which digital technologies impact our lives in the digital society, think about ethics in technology and write poems using code.

Susan Halfpenny is Head of Research and Learning Information Services at the University of Aberdeen. She is responsible for the delivery of digital and information skills, open research and subject services within the Library. Susan has led on a range of initiatives to develop staff and students’ digital capabilities, including the development of skills frameworks, the rollout of training programmes and the creation of digital citizenship and wellbeing MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). Her interests are digital creativity and the use of digital technologies to transform teaching, research and administrative processes.

Steph Jesper has spent the last umpteen years living in spreadsheets. She’s a qualified Librarian who moonlights in IT, developing and delivering digital skills training for students and staff at the University of York. Prior to that, she’s had fun at a range of educational establishments, and less fun trying to sell records online. Her role model is Maggie Philbin, her favourite Doctor Who serial is The Stones of Blood, her Eurovision Song Contest of choice is 1977 and her preferred Treasure Hunt episode is Birmingham (series 2) - all things she’s been able to re-watch thanks to the Internet.

Partners

University of York