Hannah Fry

Imagine knowing the exact day of your death through science, having conversations with animals via technology, or erasing your worst memories with machines—would you choose to experience these advancements? Hannah Fry, a Professor of Mathematics, has spent the past decade as a science writer and broadcaster, exploring these cutting-edge technologies worldwide. She offers a unique perspective on the imminent technological breakthroughs and their societal implications.

In her engaging and interactive talk, Hannah shares captivating stories from her journeys: about companies decoding brain waves, NGOs leveraging satellites to prevent conflicts, scientists communicating with elephants, and the convergence of AI and quantum computing ushering in an era of extraordinary technological progress.

Data often carries an undeserved reputation for being completely objective. While statistics can shed light on various issues, they can also perpetuate exclusion and discrimination if gathered without care. Our relentless drive to quantify everything can create a disconnect between what truly matters and what is merely measurable.

In this talk, I will use humor and empathy to explore how bias has become a significant modern problem, how it can be intensified, the real harm it causes, and potential solutions. I will delve into the concept of fairness, examining its definition and achievability, and argue why determining who is counted and who is not is one of the crucial challenges of our time.

In the age of Big Data, we often assume that enough information makes human behavior entirely predictable, and in many cases, it does. There are countless examples where data has provided solutions to our most pressing questions.

However, data can also mislead us. Even top scientists have been guilty of seeing patterns that don't exist, missing critical signals, or over-relying on data, mistakenly believing it represents objective truth.

In this talk, I will explore key lessons science has learned from 2020 onwards. We'll examine why these lessons are significant, share extraordinary stories of data missteps, and investigate the boundaries of quantitative analysis. Together, we'll identify what aspects of our future can truly be forecasted, showcase the immense power and potential of data, and understand its limitations.

We often view ourselves as master decision-makers, driven by reason and logic. While this is an appealing notion, the reality is far more complex. Human decision-making is influenced by conflicting incentives, flawed memories, and inherent biases.

In the modern era, data analytics seeks to automate decision-making to minimize these human errors and biases. However, decisions driven by data are not without their own blind spots. This brings us to a critical dilemma: both humans and machines are flawed. So, who should we trust to make decisions? Who should be the ultimate authority when both sides have significant risks?

This session, rich with audience interaction, aims to uncover hidden flaws in our decision-making processes and the systems designed to replace us. It explores the greatest ironies of automation and sheds light on the challenging questions we face in the future.

Over the past decade, I have dedicated my work to exploring data, uncovering mathematical patterns in human behavior. During this journey, I have discovered incredible stories embedded in the numbers that reveal profound insights into who we are as individuals.

In this optimistic talk, I will share some extraordinary and surprising tales from the forefront of data science. These stories illustrate how data can provide a unique perspective on our lives, influencing areas such as dating, healthcare, and even criminal investigation. By viewing humanity through a mathematical lens, we can reimagine and redesign our society to better meet our needs and solve complex problems.