Speakers from the fields of academia, arts and science brought their visions of a new world and the role the next generation must play in shaping it to the audience of TEDx CERN on 9 October. The visionary speakers break the boundaries of academic research to propose innovative solutions for the future that take into account today’s limitations.

TEDx CERN at the CMS test site

Entitled ‘Breaking the Rules’, the event provided a platform for participants to share their vision of a new world to the crowd at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN)’s test site in Cessy, France, and to 23 viewing parties around the world; “from as close as Annecy in France, to as far as Kathmandu in Nepal,” James Gillies, CERN’s head of communication, stated in his welcome address.

Speaker bios are available here.

Tim Dixon, managing director of Purpose Europe, who describe themselves as developing “technology, tools and content that move millions to remake the world,” talked about the need to ensure that science maintains its relevance and authority in the twenty-first century. He asserted that science must be able to capture the mainstream public imagination of the west, and “needs a people power revolution” in order to help solve the big questions of our age.

Michael Bodekaer

Similarly innovative ideas were espoused by Michael Bodekaer, the founder of Labster, a biotechnology education startup teaching life science through gamified education and immersive 3D virtual laboratories. He demonstrated how his new virtual reality software would enable students to transform their mobile phones into a laboratory of Ivy League university standards. Bodekaer explained how students would be able to perform dangerous research projects that would not be possible to conduct in real life laboratories, such as inspecting salmonella bacteria. He stressed how important improving scientific education is, considering that it will be the next generation of young scientists who must develop tools to address the complex challenges we face today, such as global warming.

Linda Liukas, founder of Rail Girls

Linda Liukas, a programmer, storyteller, illustrator and author of the children’s book “Hello Ruby”, drew the audience into her “wonderful, whimsical and a tiny bit weird” way of seeing programming and technology. Liukas is the founder of “Rail Girls” a non-profit which has introduced more than 10,000 women to the basics of programming through workshops held in over 230 cities. She shared her experience of learning to program by envisioning how a young girl, Ruby, would create imaginary universes from the world of computers, algorithms and coding languages. Liukas emphasised the value of teaching children, who “touch, swipe and pinch their way through the world,” to be computer literate by learning the basics of computer programming. She stated that this is crucial considering that we are the last generation for whom a computer is a “glowing white box”, as “our kids” will live in a world where everything will be a computer, from toothbrushes to flower pots.

The speaker who raised the most thought-provoking questions about the societal affects of human engineering and biological control in a not too distant future was Matthew Liao, director of the Bioethics Programme at New York University and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Moral Philosophy. Liao considered whether we should use drugs and technology to erase traumatic memories and how advances in the fields of computing and neuroscience raise new ethical challenges. Intellectual Property Watch caught up with him and explored his ideas in more depth. The interview is available here: (IPW, Europe, 19 October 2015).

Marianna Drake is an intern at Intellectual Property Watch and DiploFoundation. She has an LLB Honours in Law from King’s College London where she developed an interest in information technology law, Internet governance and Internet related intellectual property issues.

Image Credits: CERN, TEDx CERN