Author: Mechanical Dolphin

Ministry of Time Book Review for Vector

Mechanical Dolphin

“In times of uncertainty, what we can imagine ahead of us matters.”

I write on Kaliane Bradley’s wonderful novel The Ministry of Time for the British Science Fiction Association’s journal Vector, and consider the book’s wider implications for public imagination in a turbulent era.

“Time travel in science fiction has, itself, a history and prehistory, a present, and presumably a future. It has the potential for new and emergent ideas of temporality – scientific, poetic, popular, expert – to succeed those currently held by researchers, philosophers, artists, authors, critics, and the general public of the day…Perhaps Bradley’s novel will also, in times to come, show itself to be one of the works that opened the door onto a new era of popular time travel fiction. This new era is one which, however fraught, creates new opportunities for us to face up to the uncertainties around us.”

Read “Eternally Displaced Persons? Territorial Bodies and The Ministry of Time” in Vector online, here.

ISPSO 2025: Navigating Conflict in Contemporary Organizations

Mechanical Dolphin

Organizations are made up of people, so conflict within them is hardly unusual – it can even be a necessary part of meaningful collaboration. But in a highly polarized, digital, and volatile era, where the line between “the world” and “the organization” may be thinning, do we need new ways to define and approach organizational conflict?

Debbie Bing and Eliza Orleans explore this question and consider potential responses at ISPSO 2025 – the hybrid gathering devoted to the study of organizations, with a special focus this year on questions of justice and fairness. I’m honoured to be moderating Eliza & Debbie’s session – Saturday June 28th, 9.30am-11am Eastern – and it’s not too late to register for the conference, in-person or online.

Are we even talking about tomorrow? at UCL Languages of the Future

Mechanical Dolphin

I’m speaking at the UCL Languages of the Future conference on 6th June, presenting a paper titled “Are we even talking about tomorrow? Uncertainty, agency, and the encounter with the sublime”.

The event brings together contributors from across academia and broader society to think through the complex relationships between languages and times to come. We’ve been given a few big questions to chew on, like: How can “languages of the future” encapsulate specific individual disciplines, embrace diverse knowledge systems, convey the urgency of problems that are yet to arise, and honour the voices of the more-than-human world?

I’ll be standing on the shoulders of thinkers like UCL’s Richard Sandford to explore uncertainty, agency, and the “thick present”: an understanding of the here-and-now encompassing remembrance and anticipation. As Rafael Ramírez and Angela Wilkinson have it,

The future is always an aspect of the present. The future has not “taken place,” but the present always “holds” the future, and holds it as potential. Indeed, the future is never “later,” is it always (experienced, imagined) “now.”

Droplets hanging from a leaf in close up. The image is titled WHAT MIGHT TRANSPIRE? and includes a quotation from Sandford 2023: 'It is precisely action that makes the present thick. Pursuing the ends that we have demands that we weave together pasts, presents, and futures, producing the thick present through the exercise of our agency.'

Oxford Human-Algorithm Interaction Workshop 2025

Mechanical Dolphin

I’m pleased to be presenting at the University of Oxford’s Human-Algorithm Interaction Workshop 2025, on “Governing the futures you didn’t see coming: artificial intelligence scenarios“.

Do join us in Oxford, 5-8 July, for an interdisciplinary event delving into the complex and evolving relationship between humans and algorithms.

The annual workshop is a gathering of industry leaders, AI pioneers, and leading researchers who will explore the evolving role of AI in business, governance, and society. This year’s theme is “Shaping the future of AI: innovation, ethics and impact.”

Find out more and register here.

Webinar: How Dual-Use Tech Is Redrawing the Global Power Map

Mechanical Dolphin

On June 9th, I’m hosting a discussion about dual use technologies for Oxford’s Emerging Threats Group.

A wide range of items are now recognised as “dual use”, capable of being employed for both civil and military purposes. From drones, robots, and software including AI to chemical and biological tools, the term has evolved beyond its original post-World War 2 meaning as a category of nuclear materials that could serve both the energy sector and the development of nuclear weapons.

Today anything is a weapon and may be used as such, especially in hybrid warfare. We live in an era when countless technologies can be used with benign or hostile intent, and when the governance mechanisms of global trade are being shaken under heightened geopolitical tensions. Under such circumstances, innovation, application, and regulation all become increasingly fraught. Businesses may find themselves drawn into new dilemmas if their technology is turned to malign ends, or seek opportunities that arise from a new era of dual use. Governments must act judiciously in an age when many items may be weaponised against them…or by them.

Join me, and four transatlantic experts, to consider the past, present, and future of dual use technology, 5pm-6.30pm BST on June 9th.

Register and RSVP at the Emerging Threats website.

“Looking Beyond the Ghost Scenario” in Issues in Science and Technology

Mechanical Dolphin

The editorial team at Issues in Science and Technology invited me to submit a response to Ed Finn’s excellent recent article on using science fiction to stage conversations about science and technology policy.

You can read my letter, “Looking Beyond the Ghost Scenario”, at the Issues website.

Right Here, Right Now Global Youth Climate Summit

Mechanical Dolphin

I’m pleased to be delivering two sessions as part of the University of Oxford’s contribution to the Right Here Right Now Global Youth Climate Summit, a 24-hour virtual event presented by UN Human Rights and the Saïd Business School.

The online gathering brings together students and educators from across the world to share ideas about embedding climate action at the heart of education systems.

Find out more at the Saïd Business School website or register for the 24-hour livestream here.

'Dreaming Spires', by Flickr User JJBullock - Copyright JJ Bullock 2010
‘Dreaming Spires’, by Flickr User JJBullock – Copyright JJ Bullock 2010

auDA Scenarios @ European Parliamentary Research Service

Mechanical Dolphin

This Friday, the Foresight Club of the European Parliamentary Research Service hosts a presentation from Sophie Mitchell, Chief Communications Officer of Australia’s domain name regulator auDA.

Sophie will talk about the 2024 auDA scenarios, looking at the future of Internet governance, which are just coming up on the first anniversary of their publication, and can be found here.

Do check them out and, if you’re free, join Sophie and the European foresight community this Friday, 11th April, 9.30-10.30am Central European Time, via Webex.

Mega Robo Bros: The End / Interview with Neill Cameron

Mechanical Dolphin

Earlier this year, I spoke with the great Neill Cameron about ending the ten-year journey of his comic Mega Robo Bros.

Our conversation covers everything from the first glimpse of the Bros in his mind’s eye to the final pen stroke on the final frame, and many wonderful adventures in between; it’s a proper deep dive from one of the most thoughtful comics creators around. You can read the transcript of our complete conversation as a PDF download here.

Neill Cameron Mega Robo Bros Finale Interview January 2025Download

The Ghosts We See From The Mountains: New book chapter available

Mechanical Dolphin

It feels somehow timely that “The Ghosts We See From the Mountains“, a chapter co-written with the University of Galway’s Marie Mahon for the Routledge volume Crisis and Body Politics in Twenty-First Century Production, is now live online and open access.

The chapter explores the useful intersection of Oxford-style scenario planning with issues of spatial justice and Verónica Gago’s concept of the “body-territory”.

Thanks to volume editors Charlotte Spear and Maddie Sinclair for bringing everything together.

Title of the Routledge edited volume Crisis and Body Politics in Twenty First Century Cultural Production