Channel Title: Oxford Martin School Channel Description: The Oxford Martin School is a world-leading research department of the University of Oxford. Its 200 academics, work across more than 30 pioneering research programmes to find solutions to the world's most urgent challenges. It supports novel and high-risk projects that often do not fit within conventional funding channels, with the belief that breaking boundaries and fostering innovative collaborations can dramatically improve the wellbeing of this and future generations. Underpinning all our research is the need to translate academic excellence into impact – from innovations in science, medicine and technology, through to providing expert advice and policy recommendations. <video> AI Governance Initiative Event: 'Allure and limits of global governance of AI' with Juraj Čorba Description: The Global Digital Compact, adopted at the UN in September 2024, highlights the current state of global AI governance. But where do we go from here? Join us for a discussion with Juraj Čorba, Chair of the OECD Working Party on AI Governance (AIGO) Marta Ziosi, Vice-Chair of the EU GPAI Code of Practice: Risk identification and assessment, including evaluations Sam Daws, Senior Advisor at the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative Henry de Zoete, Former AI Adviser at Number Ten and Senior Advisor at the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative Moderator: Robert Trager, Director of the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative We will explore key questions shaping the future of AI governance: What can the UN realistically achieve in AI governance on a global scale? Will competing blocs of AI governance emerge? Will there be overlap or meaningful dialogue between them? How scientifically informed can AI governance and policymaking be? Are we effectively balancing technical and societal aspects, or are there critical blind spots? What role will other international organisations, such as the OECD, continue to play in AI governance? How can research institutes and universities contribute productively to this evolving process? This event is organised by the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative. </video> <video> 'The costs of large teams in innovation’ with Dr Lingfei Wu Description: While traditional studies have emphasised the benefits of teamwork, the cost of teams in innovation has been overlooked. By leveraging big data and AI tools, Dr. Lingfei Wu’s research identifies disruptive innovation in science and technology, showing how large teams can hinder individual creativity that might otherwise drive breakthrough advancement in the field. Team hierarchy is a key factor, with early-career scientists often playing a supporting role in idea implementation rather than leading the generation of new ideas. Large teams can also obscure individual recognition, exacerbating the contribution-credit paradox in science—a phenomenon first identified by sociologist R. K. Merton in the 1960s. This issue has become increasingly relevant today, as teams grow ubiquitous across domains, yet not all team members receive recognition for their contributions. Join Dr Lingfei Wu, Visiting Fellow on the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Work, as he discusses his research and its implications for innovation. </video> <video> The Agile Initiative: Autumn 2024 Sprint Call Description: This was an event by The Agile Initiative at the Oxford Martin School. We held this webinar in October 2024 in order to present more information on the call for Sprint funding, and give the audience an opportunity to ask questions. Speakers: Dr Pete Barbrook-Johnson (Agile Initiative’s Deputy Director) and Dr Rachel Hayman (Agile Initiative’s Programme Manager). Deadline to apply is 22 November 2024. Read more about the Sprint Call on the Agile Initiative website: https://www.agile-initiative.ox.ac.uk/news/call-for-funding-autumn-2024-agile-initiative-sprints/ </video> <video> 'Crafting a new global order? The UN and international politics in the 1990s' with Prof Fabian Klose Description: The 1990s are pivotal for understanding the mobilisation of the international system in the face of significant geopolitical upheaval and different types of global shock. After the end of the Cold War, this decade marks the beginning of a quest for a new global order. New visions of global governance emerged, which were based on a redefinition of fundamental principles such as peace, security, sovereignty and the idea of responsibility. However, these developments were overshadowed by mass violence, ethnic cleansing, genocide and the failures of the international community to prevent them. In his talk Professor Fabian Klose, Chair of International History and Historical Peace and Conflict Research at University of Cologne, will investigate the consequences these turbulent times had for the United Nations and how the world organisation reacted. He will explore the ambiguous role of the United Nations as a global actor responding to global shocks, in complex and often controversial circumstances. </video> <video> 'How innovation in the private sector can help address major 21st century challenges' Description: Using examples from the energy transition, climate change mitigation and healthcare, Warren East, former CEO Rolls-Royce & ARM, in conversation with Charles Godfray & Soumitra Dutta, will explore the interplay of novel technologies and major societal challenges, as well as the obvious and less obvious barriers to the take up of new ideas. The first talk in a new termly series of discussions with industry leaders and policymakers, run jointly by the Oxford Martin School and the Saïd Business School. </video> <video> 'Understanding pathways of knowledge to action in conservation' with Prof Leah Gerber Description: Conservation is a crisis discipline, and one that is arguably failing. As we face an unprecedented rate of extinction, how do we mainstream biodiversity conservation into global decision-making and sustainable development? In this talk, Professor Leah Gerber will describe a theory of change for addressing the biodiversity crisis by integrating innovation with boundary-spanning work. Providing examples from a decade of work in leading Arizona State University’s Center for Biodiversity Outcomes, she will discuss ways to bring biodiversity into global decision making and to establish a replicable model for effective conservation. </video> <video> How Diet Changes Can Help the Planet | World Vegan Day 🌱 Description: On #WorldVeganDay, explore the environmental impact of diet choices with Professor Peter Scarborough from the University of Oxford. While a full switch to veganism could reduce dietary environmental impact by around 75%, even reducing meat makes a big difference. This video dives into how individual choices around food can make a powerful impact on the planet. 🌎 Find out more about this and more research from our Future of Food Programme: https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/food/ Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk </video> <video> 'Towards a liveable planet: land, energy and food system transitions' with Prof Paul Behrens Description: In his introductory talk, Professor Behrens will describe his work in land use, food & energy systems, and climate change. He’ll answer questions ranging from “how much mining do we need for the energy transition” to “how much land in the UK and worldwide could we spare through dietary shifts”. He'll talk about his work in legal and political advocacy, and outline his new Global Professorship programme on rapid food transformations in a rapidly changing world at the Oxford Martin School. </video> <video> 'The billionaire tax: a (modest) proposal for the 21st century' with Prof Gabriel Zucman Description: Progressive taxation is a key pillar of democratic societies. But thanks to new research, there is now clear evidence that contemporary tax systems, instead of being progressive, do not effectively tax the wealthiest individuals. This lecture will detail a proposal for a coordinated minimum tax ensuring that dollar billionaires pay at least 2% of their wealth in taxes each year. The lecture will discuss the feasibility of such a new form of international coordination, and the potential obstacles and benefits of such a measure. </video> <video> Book talk: 'Science and Politics' - Sir Ian Boyd in conversation with Charles Godfray & Helen Ghosh Description: Professor Sir Ian Boyd is a distinguished marine biologist who from 2012 to 2019 was Chief Scientific Advisor at Defra (Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) and is currently President of the Royal Society of Biology. While at Defra he dealt with such tricky issues as bovine TB and badger culling, neonicotinoid insecticides and “forever” chemical pollutants. In his recent no-holds-barred book, Science and Politics, Ian describes some of the challenges in speaking truth to power and reflects on the uneasy marriage of science and politics. Importantly, he suggests positive and quite radical actions that might be taken to improve the way government incorporates the best science in decision maker. Ian will discuss his ideas with Sir Charles Godfray (OMS Director) and Dame Helen Ghosh (Master of Balliol and former Permanent Secretary at Defra) and take questions from the audience. </video> <video> Panel discussion: 'Post-COP29 Debrief: Reflections on a divisive deal' Description: COP29 concluded with a last-minute deal decried as inadequate by developing nations. From finance to carbon markets to youth demands, was any progress made in pushing forward international climate action at COP29? Or was it all “too little too late”? In this panel discussion, members of Oxford University's COP29 delegation will share their perspectives on the summit and what the outcome means for the future of global action on climate change. Panel: Professor Sam Fankhauser (Chair), Professor of Climate Change and Economic Policy, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment & School of Geography and the Environment Professor Thomas Hale, Professor of Global Public Policy, Blavatnik School of Government Dr Injy Johnstone, Research Fellow in Net Zero Aligned Offsetting, Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment Jodi-Ann Wang, DPhil Candidate in International Development, University of Oxford & Policy Fellow, LSE Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment. Ushika Kidd and Flora Prideaux, Co-Presidents, Oxford Climate Society This talk is in conjunction with Oxford Climate Research Network </video> <video> 'Wicked Problems: How to Engineer a Better World' with Guru Madhavan Description: Our world is filled with pernicious problems. How, for example, did novice pilots learn to fly without taking to the air and risking their lives? How should cities process mountains of waste without polluting the environment? Challenges that tangle personal, public, and planetary aspects - often occurring in health care, infrastructure, business, and policy - are known as wicked problems, and they are not going away anytime soon. In this talk, the Author of Wicked Problems, engineer Guru Madhavan, will illuminate how wicked problems have emerged throughout history and how best to address them in the future. He will examine best-known tragedies and lesser-known tales, from the efficient design of battleships to a volcano eruption that curtailed global commerce. An homage to society’s innovators and maintainers, Guru will offer a refreshing vision for all backgrounds to build a better future and demonstrate how engineering is a cultural choice - one that requires us to restlessly find ways to transform society, but perhaps more critically, to care for the creations that already exist. </video> <video> AI Governance Initiative Book Talk: 'Technology and the Rise of Great Powers' with Jeffrey Ding Description: When scholars and policymakers consider how technological advances affect the rise and fall of great powers, they draw on theories that centre the moment of innovation - the eureka moment that sparks astonishing technological feats. In his new book, Jeffrey Ding offers a different explanation of how technological revolutions affect competition among great powers. Rather than focusing on which state first introduced major innovations, he investigates the ability of states to successfully adapt and spread these technologies across their economies. Drawing on historical case studies of past industrial revolutions as well as statistical analysis, Ding demonstrates how institutional adaptations oriented around diffusing technology play a crucial role in shaping global competition. His findings bear directly on current concerns about how emerging technologies such as AI could influence the US-China power balance. Following his presentation, Ding will be joined by Robert Trager, Co-Director of the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative, Ben Garfinkel, Director of the Centre for the Governance of AI and Kayla Blomquist, Director of the Oxford China Policy Lab for a panel discussion before Q&A This event is organised by the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative. </video> <video> ‘Cities rethought’: a book launch and lunchtime discussion Description: In a world of disruptions and seemingly endless complexity, cities have become – perhaps more than ever – central to thinking about the future of humanity. Yet rarely has the study of cities been more fragmented among different silos of expertise, diverse genres of scholarship, and widening chasms between theory and practice. How can we do better? The book Cities Rethought suggests that we need to remake the way we see and know cities in order to rethink how we act and intervene within them. To this end, it offers the contours of a new urban disposition. This disposition, articulated through its normative, analytical, and operational elements, offers an opportunity for scholars, practitioners, and citizens alike to approach the complexity of cities anew, and find ways to rethink both scholarly analyses as well as modes of practice. In a short discussion, Professor Fran Tonkiss, LSE and Professor Gillian Rose, School of Geography & the Environment, will comment on the book’s place in a wider academic and social context. The discussion will be chaired by Professor Tim Schwanen, Transport Studies Unit. This event will involve a short discussion and a book launch of ‘Cities Rethought: A new urban disposition’ by Gautam Bhan, Michael Keith, Sue Parnell and Edgar Pieterse’ to be published formally by Polity in 2025 but with copies available at the event. </video> <video> "Fighting misinformation on social media: the role of economic research" with Prof Sergei Guriev Description: Following the rise of social networks and the spread of dis-information and misinformation on social media, political scientists, social psychologists, and media scholars have proposed and studied several instruments to slow down propagation of false news. In this talk, Sergei Guriev, Dean of the London Business School & leading Russian dissident, will discuss the recent research on the economics of fighting disinformation and fake news on social media. Professor Guriev will argue that the most effective interventions are simple nudges or prompts (so-called accuracy nudges), that shift attention to accuracy in a manner that raises the salience of reputational concerns. In turn, this results in reduced sharing of false news and increased sharing of true content on social media. The insights of this talk matter for our contemporary understanding of populist politics in democratic systems as well as the rise of influential misinformation campaigns by authoritarian regimes. </video>

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The Oxford Martin School is a world-leading research department of the University of Oxford. Its 200 academics, work across more than 30 pioneering research programmes to find solutions to the world's most urgent challenges. It supports novel and high-risk projects that often do not fit within conventional funding channels, with the belief that breaking boundaries and fostering innovative collaborations can dramatically improve the wellbeing of this and future generations. Underpinning all our research is the need to translate academic excellence into impact – from innovations in science, medicine and technology, through to providing expert advice and policy recommendations.

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