The end of the road

Contributor(s): Professor Tim Bale, Dr Marta Lorimer, Dr Michael Vaughan, Imam Adam Kelwick | How is the far right shaping our future? Across the world, far right ideas, once confined to the political fringe, have entered the mainstream. They spread through social media feeds and dominate tabloid headlines. Many fear they’re transforming politics, threatening democracy and tearing at the fabric of society. Joanna Bale meets Imam Adam Kelwick, whose Liverpool mosque was surrounded by an angry mob after the murders of three young girls in nearby Southport. He tells an extraordinary story of bravery and reconciliation. She also talks to Tim Bale, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London, about the booming popularity of Nigel Farage. Marta Lorimer, Visiting Fellow at LSE’s European Institute and Lecturer in Politics at Cardiff University, discusses how millions are voting for far right parties across Europe. And Michael Vaughan, Research Fellow at LSE’s International Inequalities Institute, dissects Elon Musk’s far right political agenda. Contributors: Professor Tim Bale, Imam Adam Kelwick, Dr Marta Lorimer, Dr Michael Vaughan. Research links: Tim Bale: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0263395718754718 https://theloop.ecpr.eu/why-we-need-to-halt-hard-right-in-its-tracks/ https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/reform-members Marta Lorimer: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/europe-as-ideological-resource-9780198892366?cc=gb&lang=en& https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00323217251346639 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nana.13001 Michael Vaughan: https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/22639 LSE iQ is a university podcast by the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Contributor(s): Ben Chu | Join us for this conversation between journalist and author Ben Chu and LSE's Richard Davies about Ben's new book Exile Economics: What Happens if Globalisation Fails. In Exile Economics Ben Chu argues that nations are turning away from each other. Faith in globalisation has been fatally undermined by the pandemic, the energy crisis, surging trade frictions and swelling great power rivalry. A new vision is vying to replace what we’ve known for many decades. This vision – what Ben calls exile economics - entails a rejection of interdependence, a downgrading of multilateral collaboration and a striving for greater national self-sufficiency. The supporters of this new order argue it will establish genuine security, prosperity and peace. But is this promise achievable? Or a seductive delusion?

Contributor(s): Professor Alan Taylor | Join us for a special lecture by Alan Taylor, the newest member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, on monetary policy. He will discuss the natural rate of interest, also known as r*, including empirical estimates. He will also talk about the current economic situation, and the outlook for inflation and interest rates.

Contributor(s): Professor Mary O’Mahony, Professor Sir Christopher Pissarides | How can we shape engaging work environments that foster productivity and enable workers to flourish? Using evidence from the Pissarides Report the event will highlight the importance of not only being skilled but also feeling capable of drawing on technological advancements in the workplace.Featured image (used in source code with watermark added): Photo by fauxels via Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-people-doing-handshakes-3183197/

Contributor(s): Dr Melissa Chapman, Amy Fisher, Sylvan Lutz, David McNeil, Professor Carmen Nuzzo | Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are versatile technologies that have drastically lowered the cost of data production and analysis, potentially accelerating global decarbonisation and addressing socioeconomic issues. Nonetheless, concerns persist regarding their environmental impact and the risk of propagating low-quality information, especially with large language models (LLMs). Like any tool, AI can yield both positive and negative outcomes. As the demand for real-time data increases for the net-zero transition, the Transition Pathway Initiative Centre (TPI Centre) at LSE is navigating this challenge. While AI could help process the necessary data for net zero alignment, unchecked reliance on automation may lead to misinformation and greenwashing, jeopardising sound decision-making. This event will explore the TPI Centre’s pilot programme aimed at automating data collection to evaluate the net-zero progress of companies, banks, and countries. By bringing together academics, researchers, investors and businesses, we hope to foster discussions on the information essential for advancing the net-zero transition.Featured image (used in source code with watermark added): Photo by Getty Images via Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/photos/3d-rendering-of-earth-futuristic-technology-abstract-background-illustration-60_6d24hGTg

Contributor(s): Dr Sara Geneletti, Dr Laura Gilbert, Professor Helen Margetts | Routinely collected UK government data sets contain staggering amounts of information. The potential for the use of these data to understand how government policies are changing people’s lives, to aid better decision making and to hold government accountable for the policies they make is enormous. The process is not however all plain sailing. Good, big, and representative data sets are essential, and datasets are often far from perfect with inherent biases and missing entries. Cleaning data is time consuming and labour intensive and analysis requires skilled data scientists. These issues can be overcome or at least mitigated, and in the future government policies could be based on evidence drawn from these data and tested on model populations prior to implementation.

Contributor(s): Lila Ibrahim | Lila Ibrahim, Chief Operating Officer of Google DeepMind, is shaping the company's strategic operations and partnerships to drive innovation and impact. At this event, she will share her vision for the future and discuss the transformative potential of AI in the years ahead.

Contributor(s): Professor Martin Knapp, Professor Lord Layard, Dr Laura Taylor | The panel explore how we can identify cost-effective policies to improve societal wellbeing — and why it will be key to shaping the future of the UK and beyond.

Contributor(s): Professor Paul Dolan | Join us for this talk by LSE's Paul Dolan in which he will talk about his new book, Beliefism. Do you avoid people who are strongly against immigration? Or strongly for trans rights? Against abortion? For drug legalisation? We might like to think that we're tolerant, but many of us struggle to engage with people whose opinions differ strongly from our own-even if they might have something useful to contribute to the debate. That means we're falling victim to what behavioural scientist Paul Dolan defines as Beliefism: discrimination against those with different beliefs to us. Drawing on the evidence from across the social sciences, Dolan shows how easy it is for us to divide ourselves into opposing camps - and how harmful that can be.This recording contains strong language.

Contributor(s): Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Professor Amartya Sen, Professor Lord Stern | Join us for this special event celebrating LSE's new Global School of Sustainability at which our speakers will discuss fostering sustainability amidst global uncertainty