TICKETS £10 (plus booking fee)
In an age of political polarisation, social media fragmentation and artificial intelligence, who do we trust, and why?
From pandemics and climate change to economics, technology and war, modern societies depend more than ever on expertise. Yet trust in institutions, academia, journalism and public authority appears increasingly fragile. Experts are alternately elevated as unquestionable authorities or dismissed as disconnected elites. At the same time, digital media ecosystems reward emotion, identity and narrative as much as evidence and reason.
This special BRIGHTHINK conversation brings together Professor Andy Stirling (SPRU, University of Sussex),Professor Charlie Beckett (LSE and Polis), and broadcaster Rob Broomby, for a live discussion exploring the changing relationship between expertise, democracy and public trust. The conversation will examine whether institutions have become too reliant on presenting science and expertise as unified, certain and beyond challenge, and whether this very tendency may itself fuel distrust and populist backlash.
In a world where compelling stories often travel further than facts, how do expertise and democratic debate coexist?
Can democratic societies acknowledge uncertainty and disagreement without undermining confidence altogether?
And what happens when traditional gatekeepers lose their monopoly on credibility?
ProF. Charlie Beckett
Charlie is Professor in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and founding director of Polis, LSE’s influential think-tank exploring journalism, media and society. A leading expert on media, democracy and digital communication, his work focuses on trust in journalism, political communication and the impact of AI on the media landscape. A frequent commentator for UK and international media, he advises news organisations and policymakers around the world and is the author of SuperMedia: Saving Journalism So It Can Save the World and WikiLeaks: News in the Networked Era.
Prof Andy Stirling
Andy is Emeritus Professor in the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex. He works on issues of power, uncertainty and diversity in science and technology and served on a number of UK, EU and wider governmental advisory processes on issues around nuclear power, military infrastructures, energy policy, toxic chemicals, science advice, GM foods, environmental science and biodiversity.
CHAIR
Rob Broomby has been a broadcast journalist for almost three decades- mostly with the BBC as the BBC Berlin Correspondent and later a British Affairs Correspondent for the World Service. He presented radio news, current affairs and documentary programmes including and in recent years has been Senior Producer for ARD - German Television.
This event will take place upstairs in The Nightingale Room at The Grand Central Pub, Brighton. There is a licensed bar, but unfortunately there is no wheelchair access available at this venue.
DOORS OPEN : 19:00
TALK STARTS : 19:30
AUDIENCE Q&A : 20:30