Liz McFall: The Data Civics Observatory

Professor Gbenga Ibikunle, Chair in Finance and Director of the Edinburgh Centre for Financial Innovation, gives us a glimpse into the fast-changing world of fintech and financial services. He explains how his work has a strong public-facing dimension with his research informing how governments generate new policies and design regulatory systems.

Professor Ram Ramamoorthy, Chair of Robot Learning and Director of the Generative AI Laboratory (GAIL) based at Edinburgh Futures Institute brings us on a fascinating journey into the work of robots and machine learning. Using real world examples drawn from his engagement with industry partners, we find out how robots can help humans in contexts such as social care. 

Professor Sian Bayne, Co-Director of the Centre for Research in Digital Education at Edinburgh Futures Institute and Assistant Principal (Education Futures), explores how education has been transformed by digital technology over the past two decades, and what the challenges and opportunities are when navigating this dynamic landscape.

Dr Morgan Currie, Senior Lecturer in Data & Society and Co-Lead of the Critical Data Studies Cluster at Edinburgh Futures Institute, helps us to understand how datafication is increasingly embedded in our everyday lives and why we should be concerned about this.

Professor Liz Grant, Chair of Public Health and Development and Assistant Principal for Public Health, discusses her research over the course of her varied career and how real world problems constitute the core of her work in mapping out a better future for our planetary health.

In this episode, Professor Kate Wright speaks openly about the uncertain future facing the media, drawing on her experience as a journalist and academic. Working as a BBC journalist, Kate spent time in some of the world’s most dangerous conflict zones. Moving into academia allowed her to investigate how journalism is responding to the twin challenges of the new digital landscape and the changing political and cultural contexts in which news is now produced. Note: This podcast was recorded in late 2024.

Designing technology that humans can easily use — this is Professor John Vines' mission. He takes us through a varied career in design and explains how the field of human-computer interaction explores the ways in which people experience technology in their everyday lives. Along the way we learn about the value John places on the participation of users in design.

How do we future proof our infrastructure? This question is the key concern for Professor Sean Smith, an engineer who has worked in industry and academia. He outlines the unique expertise that pioneering research can bring to the design and construction of buildings that enable us to reduce our environment footprint. 

How does our brain explain the ways in which we make sense of the complex political worlds we inhabit? This question is explored in the Neuropolitics Lab, designed and developed by political scientist and Professor Laura Cram, where politics and neuroscience come together to answer some of the most pressing questions we face today about our politically-divided societies. 

In a frank and revealing discussion, sociologist and Professor Liz McFall charts her journey from growing up in West Lothian, Scotland, to exploring vital questions about democracy and data in the Data Civics Observatory which she leads at the Futures Institute. She also discusses her film, Closes and Opens: a history of Edinburgh’s Futures and Milton Keynes of the Mind.