After Illusions: Invisible Systems
Should we aim to make hidden systems that shape our daily lives more transparent, or dismantle them entirely? This is the second talk, as part of the three-part series, responding to Tai Shani: The Spell or The Dream.
This is an 18+ event.
| Dates | Tue 19 Aug 2025 |
| Times | 6.30pm-9pm |
| Space | Lancaster Rooms, New Wing |
| Price | £10/£8 |
Under the surface of the daily grind of work, insecure housing, rising prices, and political division are largely illegible systems that define how we live. Finance capital shapeshifts to uphold global capitalism and, increasingly, artificial intelligence is another technology that infiltrates everything from our workplaces to our creativity and individual behaviours. As we look ahead, will making these systems more visible, democratic and accessible improve our lives, or should the focus be on undoing them altogether?
Speakers
- Research Scientist Kanta Dihal,
- Researcher with Amnesty Tech Alia Al Ghussain,
- YouTuber and former Financial Trader Gary Stevenson and
- Author Kojo Koram
Hosted by broadcaster and academic Dalia Gebrial.
Biographies
Kanta Dihal
Dr Kanta Dihal is a Visitor and Associate Fellow in Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence. In her research, she explores how fictional and nonfictional stories shape the development and public understanding of artificial intelligence.
Kanta’s work intersects the fields of science communication, literature and science, and science fiction. She obtained her DPhil in science communication at the University of Oxford: in her thesis, titled ‘The Stories of Quantum Physics,’ she investigated the communication of conflicting interpretations of quantum physics to adults and children. She is co-editor of the forthcoming collection AI Narratives: A History of Imaginative Thinking About Intelligent Machines (Oxford University Press, 2020) and is currently working with Dr Stephen Cave on the monograph AI: A Mythology.
Alia Al Ghussain
Alia Al Ghussain is Researcher and Advisor on technology and human rights at Amnesty International with a focus on Big Tech Accountability, working primarily on algorithmic amplification and online hate.
Gary Stevenson
Gary Stevenson is a former Citibank trader turned economist and inequality campaigner. After leaving finance, he launched the YouTube channel Gary’s Economics. Now an author and public speaker, he uses his platform to expose wealth inequality and advocate for progressive economic change.
Kojo Koram
Kojo Koram is a writer and an academic, teaching at the School of Law at Birkbeck College, University of London. Born in Accra, Ghana and raised on Merseyside, he is now based in London. He was called to the Bar of England and Wales in November 2011 and received his PhD in September 2017. In 2018, the Association for the Study of Law, Culture and the Humanities awarded his PhD the prestigious Julien Mezey Award.
In addition to his academic writing, he has written for the New Statesman, the Guardian, Dissent, The Nation, and The Washington Post and has appeared on CNN and Sky News. He is the editor of The War on Drugs and the Global Colour Line (Pluto Press 2019) and author of Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire (John Murray 2022).
Dalia Gebrial
Dalia Gebrial is a writer and academic whose work explores race, capitalism, migration and power – with particular interest in how global economic and political systems produce and manage inequality. She is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Geography at King’s College London, a contributing presenter at Novara Media and a Director at Planet B Productions. Her media commentary work spans a range of outlets – including The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times, Vice, BBC Radio 4, BBC Politics Live, LBC, and BBC World Service. Her most recent book is a co-authored publication entitled ‘Empire’s Endgame: Racism and the British State’, and her most recent documentary feature is ‘Boomerang: How the Legacies of Empire are Breaking Britain Today’.
Part of The Spell or The Dream, a major new commission by Somerset House Studios artist Tai Shani. Centered around a striking new sculpture for the Somerset House courtyard, this multifaceted work includes a 24/7 radio broadcast, live talks and performances, and an extensive family programme, inviting a host of guest contributors to collectively dream of possible futures.