First of series of talks on modern conflict

Conflict, Technology and The Individual

A series of lectures, following the November 2016 Conference, on issues associated with modern conflict, including the nexus between technology and violence and the role of the individual. The first three will be in May 2017.

Following on from its recent conference, The Changing Face of Conflict: Modern Society and Human Values, the Institute is providing a series of talks exploring topics from the Conference in greater depth. The first three will be in May.

1 May. Surveillance versus Privacy. Speaker: Iain G Mitchell QC. Iain is a member of the CCBE working party on Surveillance and on the Bar Council of England & Wales Working Party on Legal Professional Privilege and Surveillance. He will look, through the lens of morality and the rule of law, at the tensions arising between safeguarding security and the Human Right to privacy. The talk will be chaired by Andrew Dolan who is a security consultant and researcher.

8 May. Drone Wars: The Leading Edge of Emergent Technology and Conflict. Speaker: Andrew Dolan. Andrew was in the British Army for twelve years, and afterwards worked for NATO and the UK Defence Academy. He currently works as security consultant and researcher. He will address the development of drone technology as part of a wider review of how emergent technology might change the face of modern conflict and will reflect on the ethical dimensions of their use both by traditional state agencies and non-state actors. The talk will be chaired by Professor Zenon Bańkowski, Emeritus Professor of Legal Theory, the University of Edinburgh.

23 May. Suitable for Framing or Wrapping Fish: the Inevitability of Fake News. Speaker: Professor Stephen Brown. Stephen is Professor of English Literature at Trent University in Canada. He has published widely on the history of print in Scotland. His talk proposes that the phenomenon of “fake news” is nothing new. Looking at examples from the early evolution of the Edinburgh press, he will explore if news has ever been separate from business and political interests and whether the ephemeral nature of the press on page and screen encourages fakery. The talk will be chaired by Nick Bibby who has a background in political journalism and works for the University of Edinburgh’s School of Social and Political Science.

All three talks will be held at the University Chaplaincy, 1 Bristo Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AL at 5.30 pm. Attendance is free, but donations of £5 are invited.

The talks are held with the support of the University of Edinburgh Chaplaincy Centre and the Catholic Students Union.