Since 2013 we meet over coffee to talk about the biggest ideas in science, technology and the future. From the edge of the universe to the science of awe, here is every evening so far.
Tap a year to jump to its evenings.
Friday 11 November 2023 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
We delve into what it means to take a cosmic perspective. We analyse the Pale Blue Dot monologue, discuss the meaning of the Overview Effect, and consider the impact the James Webb Ultra Deep Field image might have on the human psyche and our collective consciousness.
Saturday 18 March 2023 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
ChatGPT and other generative A.I. have an electrifying impact on the public imagination. We discuss the implications and future prospects of such creative tools, and analyse the meaning of creativity and intelligence in the context of smart machines.
Saturday 10 December 2022 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
The metaverse is an immersive, 3D, interconnected network of digital and virtual worlds that is gradually evolving in new and exciting ways. We discuss what the metaverse is and how it will have an impact on future creativity, communication, collaboration and commerce.
Saturday 14 May 2022 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
Deep ecology is an environmental philosophy and social movement based on the belief that humans must radically change their relationship to nature, from one that values nature solely for its usefulness to one that recognises its inherent value. We discuss biomimicry, the circular economy, sustainability and ecological literacy.
Thursday 17 February 2022 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
GuestJose Cordeiro, PhD
A special edition of Cafe Scientifique with our guest, Jose Cordeiro, PhD. He discusses the latest updates on life extension and human longevity, and his latest book, "La muerte de la muerte" ("The Death of Death").
Saturday 12 February 2022 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
Blockchain technology is being used to publicly register and authenticate both digital and physical artworks, to tell them apart from forgeries and verify their ownership. We discuss what blockchain is and how NFTs are revolutionising the crypto art market.
Friday 12 November 2021 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm · Area 2071
Transhumanism is the belief that we are in an early stage and a continually transitionary phase of becoming something much greater and far more impressive using superior technologies. We discuss what this Humanity 2.0 should look like.
Friday 22 October 2021 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm · Area 2071
GuestTannya Jajal
A.I. is now able to create music, make art, write stories, compose movie scripts and drive cars. We discuss how humans will collaborate with A.I. in the future to create astonishing new works of art.
Friday 17 September 2021 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm · Area 2071
We are now able to extend computation into everything. We are increasingly extending those sensors into ourselves, creating a data-rich, always-on stream of information about our biological functioning. We discuss the implications of this for human flourishing.
Friday 31 January 2020 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm · Area 2071
In the last few years, we've discovered the Higgs boson and gravitational waves, photographed the first black hole, landed probes on a comet, discovered hundreds of new exoplanets and taken spectacular images of Pluto. We discuss what the next decade holds for space exploration, including exploring Mars and new star systems.
Friday 27 July 2019 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm · Area 2071
The adjacent possible is a kind of shadow future, hovering on the edges of the present state of things, a map of all the ways in which the present can reinvent itself. We talk about what's possible, probable and preferable in the future of technology, education and human society.
Friday 15 March 2019 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm · Area 2071
Burning Man has been described as the Olympics of Art and the Apotheosis of S.T.E.A.M. We talk about the principles of Burning Man and examine what life could be like in a post-A.I., post-industrial world of automation.
Friday 11 January 2019 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm · Area 2071
Much of what will happen in the next thirty years is inevitable, driven by technological trends that are already in motion. We discuss how these larger forces will completely revolutionise the way we buy, work, learn and communicate with each other.
Friday 5 October 2018 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm · Area 2071
We are living through a remarkable time in human history. Technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, robotics and 3D printing are advancing at an exponential rate, and these emerging tools are disrupting all aspects of human society. Are we prepared for this future of accelerating change?
Friday 4 November 2017 · 4:30pm to 6:00pm
GuestMark Jackson
We discuss the meaning of gravitational waves and analyse the significance of their detection in the recent collision of two neutron stars, with American theoretical physicist Mark Jackson. We also discuss the future of the human race in space and the importance of space exploration.
Tuesday 28 February 2017 · 12:15pm to 1:15pm
GuestJerome C. Glenn
We discuss the 15 Global Challenges, identify the highlights of the 2015-16 State of the Future report, and consider a few 2050 Global Scenarios with Jerome C. Glenn, co-founder of The Millennium Project, a leading global participatory think tank that has produced the annual State of the Future reports for the past 20 years.
Friday 17 February 2017 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
GuestSimon Ings
Scientists throughout history have often had to contend with politics in their pursuit of knowledge. But in the Soviet Union, where the ruling elites embraced, patronised and even fetishised science like never before, scientists lived their lives on a knife edge. Simon Ings, author of Stalin and the Scientists, tells us about five of his favourite 'mad' Soviet scientists and explains why they are worthy of historical note today.
Friday 4 November 2016 · 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Technology is growing at an exponential rate. The convergence of genetics, nanotechnology, robotics, sensors and A.I. will disrupt everything in the near future. We already have AI that can compose music, create art and write poetry. What impact will smart agents and super-smart AIs have on human society? How will greater-than-human intelligence change art? How will humans merge with technologies and create radically new types of art?
Friday 14 October 2016 · 4:30pm to 6:00pm
GuestGeorge Musser
Physics is fun precisely because it's so weird. Strange, counter-intuitive things happen at the quantum level. Physicists say nonlocality is the closest thing to real Harry Potter-ish magic they've ever seen. Einstein called it "spooky action at a distance." George Musser shows us not just how weird it is, but also seeks a rational explanation to dispel the intimations of magic.
Wednesday 7 September 2016 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
GuestMartin Roemers
By 2050, 70% of the global population will be living in cities. For his series Metropolis, Martin Roemers sets his sights on 22 megacities worldwide with more than ten million inhabitants, in which people often live under difficult circumstances in densely populated areas.
Friday 20 May 2016 · 4:30pm to 6:00pm
GuestJohn Smart
With U.S.-based writer and global futurist John Smart, we explore deep-learning backed smart agents and our mediated reality environment. Smart agents are a great example of our accelerating race to Inner Space. Will Space-Time-Energy-Matter (STEM) compression lead all intelligent civilisations to "transcension" of our universe, rather than spacefaring "expansion" within it?
Wednesday 23 March 2016 · 5:30pm to 7:00pm
GuestAubrey de Grey
How long would you like to live for? What if we could slow down the negative effects of ageing? Can we ever eradicate death? Our guest speaker, Aubrey de Grey, talks about how scientific developments in the last few decades have laid the foundation for a new class of medicines: rejuvenation biotech, targeted therapies that apply the principles of regenerative medicine across the entire scope of the damage of ageing.
Friday 8 January 2016 · 4:30pm to 6:00pm
The 2020 Time Capsule Project. The focus is on current and future technologies and the exponential growth of computing, brain-scanning, 3D printing, genetics, nanotechnology and robotics. The aim is to assess where we are today, in 2015, and where we will be in 2020. We also unveil our very special Time Capsule, into which we add gadgets, exemplars of 2015 technology, and our hopes, dreams and aspirations for 2020.
Thursday 10 December 2015 · 3:00pm to 4:00pm
GuestJason Silva
Jason Silva is a media artist, futurist, philosopher, keynote speaker and TV personality. He is the Emmy-nominated host of National Geographic Channel's hit TV series Brain Games, airing in over 100 countries, and the creator of Shots of Awe, a short-film series of "trailers for the mind" that serve as philosophical espresso shots exploring innovation, technology, creativity, futurism and the metaphysics of the imagination.
Sunday 4 October 2015 · 12:30pm to 1:30pm
GuestKevin Russell
U.S.-based Serious Wonder is about the future of technology. Its founder, Kevin Russell, is obsessed with the future. In this talk he shares the mission to bring people the best in futuristic ideas, technology, robotics, science, consciousness, philosophy, psychology, space travel, transhumanism, longevity and modern design.
Friday 9 October 2015 · 4:30pm to 5:30pm
GuestNirmal Rajah
What are fossils? How are they different from bones? How do we know how old they are? Where can we find them? How do we extract them? Dubai's pre-eminent fossil hunter, Nirmal Rajah, takes us on a scientific journey into the past and delves into the world of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures.
Friday 28 August 2015 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
GuestSaeed Al Gergawi
In the Middle East, the UAE is at the forefront of space exploration. In recent years we've seen the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, the Thuraya Space Observatory and the UAE Mars Mission. Our guest speaker, Emirati space enthusiast and member of the UAE Mars Mission Saeed Al Gergawi, gives us an outline of the discoveries and developments that await us in the near future.
Friday 26 June 2015 · 7:00pm to 8:30pm
Can we create artificial intelligence? Can we reverse engineer the brain? Can we upload our consciousness to computers? Can we interface with artificial reality? Can we overcome death? We discuss whether the concept of technological singularity is overoptimistic hype or a soon-to-be reality.
Thursday 30 April 2015 · 4:30pm to 6:30pm
GuestDr Donald Thomas
A special evening with Dr Donald Thomas, a NASA astronaut and a former crew member of the International Space Station. We talk about life in space, the difficulties of training to be an astronaut, and the future of space exploration.
Friday 6 February 2015 · 6:30pm to 9:00pm
A stargazing party. It's a special day, as Jupiter is at opposition and at the closest it will be for the next four years: a unique evening to ponder the mysteries of the universe and gaze through the telescope at some of its wonders.
Friday 9 January 2015 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
The last thing we need is blind, lazy and uninformed optimism. It's much more useful to be optimistic based on reason and by facing facts. Intelligent optimism is about being thrilled, excited and optimistic about science, technology and the future in an informed and rational way. We discuss the science behind Intelligent Optimism.
Saturday 1 November 2014 · 4:30pm to 6:30pm
The universe is vast and filled with mysteries. We've been wondering about the night sky since the dawn of time. These are exciting times for astronomy. We talk about the wonders of the cosmos and discuss the implications of the UAE's new $30 million Al Marsad Space Observatory.
Friday 26 September 2014 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
Neuroeducation is the meeting of psychology, pedagogy and neuroscience. We have learnt more about the human brain in the last five years than in all the previous centuries combined. Brain mapping and brain scanning technologies are growing at an exponential rate. We discuss their impact on learning and education.
Friday 30 May 2014 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
GuestMikolaj Zielinski
Mars One sets out to establish the first human settlement on Mars. We discuss this next giant leap for humankind. Our guest speaker is Dubai resident Mikolaj Zielinski, who is on the Mars One shortlist to be one of the first settlers on the Red Planet.
Friday 25 April 2014 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
How do we transform planets to adapt them to our needs? What is the likelihood of finding extraterrestrial life? What will it look like? What is the technology behind the search for exoplanets? We discuss the implications of leaving planet Earth and colonising other worlds.
Friday 25 October 2013 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
In the history of humanity, the 20th century was unprecedented in scientific invention and discovery. How will the 21st century change our lives? What impact will 3D printing, nanotechnology, quantum computing and genetic engineering have on what it means to be human? We discuss the most exciting inventions of 2013.
Friday 27 September 2013 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
How can we live sustainable lives? What is the science behind climate change? What are the consequences of a hotter or colder Earth? What can we do to make a difference? How important is it to recycle? We discuss the implications of living on a planet with limited resources.
Friday 30 August 2013 · 7:00pm to 8:30pm
What is dark matter and dark energy? What is the wellspring of creativity? What is consciousness? What is humour? What came before the Big Bang? How will the universe end? What's inside a black hole? We discuss these and other questions that have baffled the best minds on the planet.
Friday 26 July 2013 · 7:00pm to 8:30pm
What's the difference between astrology and astronomy? Why did alchemy give way to chemistry? Are ghosts real? Can psychics communicate with the dead? Are palmistry and crystal gazing a science? What do we make of homeopathy and acupuncture? What's the role of the placebo effect?
Friday 29 June 2013 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
We are now on the threshold of reviving extinct species and reintroducing them to the wild. Can it be done responsibly? Should it be done at all? We discuss the science behind de-extinction and debate the ethical and environmental repercussions of the creation of species by humans.
Friday 31 May 2013 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
Now that rat brains have been connected via the internet, it's only a matter of time before human brains link up directly in cyberspace. We discuss the human brain, the meaning of consciousness, and the consequences of uploading the mind and storing it digitally.
Friday 26 April 2013 · 5:00pm to 6:30pm
How big is the observable universe? What is it made of? What lies beyond it? Was there a time before the Big Bang? Could space have unseen dimensions? We explore the latest discoveries about the edge of space and the composition of the universe.
Every evening follows the same simple recipe: a short talk, a coffee break, then the floor is open to everyone.