Artist Es Devlin organized the AI and Earth conference at Oxford Kilns, bringing together artists, AI researchers, spiritual leaders, academics, and tech experts to discuss AI and make pots. The event was in preparation for the opening ceremony of the Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities at Oxford University, which is the biggest single building project the university has ever embarked on. Es Devlin did not know all the participants at the conference.
The installation '360 Vessels' by Es Devlin and Nico Muhly will be performed at the centre's opening festival, featuring 360 pots arranged on three circular tables beneath the octagonal dome of the great hall, with the University Chamber Choir performing Muhly's choral piece that draws on ideas from verse by the 17th-century theologian and poet Thomas Traherne. The ground floor of the Schwarzman Centre is open to the public and includes a gallery, cinema, two theatres, and the world's first Passivhaus concert hall, and it houses the Institute for Ethics in AI. The Oxford Civic Society's annual general meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 7, with Neale Coleman, chairman of the Oxford Growth Commission, leading the discussion at the talk following it.
I asked the university team to invite AI practitioners with a divergent set of viewpoints.
The Oxford Growth Commission was established in May 2025 and includes representatives from government, Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, the two universities, and Advanced Oxford. Lord William Hague and Lord Chris Smith will meet at Harris Manchester College on March 11 to mark three decades since the college was granted full collegiate status within the University of Oxford. The event will include a question-and-answer session with students, a celebratory dinner, and a tour of the college by Lord Smith.
Lord William Hague is the Chancellor of Oxford University, and Lord Chris Smith is the Chancellor of Cambridge University.
A vessel for every degree of difference of point of view.