What Next for Humans in an Age of Machines?

Saturday 10^th February 12.00pm/2.00pm 
Bournemouth International Centre, Exeter Road, Bournemouth, BH2 5BH

With Artificial Intelligence Expert Dr Kate Devlin

Celebrate Darwin Day in style with a delicious three course buffet lunch in BIC’s Purbeck Lounge, followed by a thought-provoking talk from our special guest Dr Kate Devlin. We live in an age where automation of our everyday world is becoming increasingly achievable, and we barely notice artificial intelligence because it blends seamlessly into our lives. For as long as humans have existed, we’ve used technology - from sticks to smartphones - to improve our existence but will we reach a point where that technology usurps us? What happens if, or when, we become redundant, and where does life go next? Join us for an insider’s view of what it means to be human in an age of ever-advancing machines.

Kate Devlin is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computing at Goldsmiths, University of London. She works in the fields of Human Computer Interaction and Artificial Intelligence, and is known for her work on human sexuality and robotics.

	Booking Information Italian buffet lunch and presentation (12:00pm start): £25 per person Presentation only (2:00pm start): £3 per person (inc tea/coffee) For tickets, please see Lyn Glass at our meetings, or phone 01202 767323, or email lyn.glass@btinternet.com (Please book lunches by 30th January).

Please indicate your interest in attending this event on Meetup.com and/or facebook as it helps raise our group’s profile on these sites (Meetup also offers you timely email reminders and an easy way to discover other interesting groups in your area). To help you find them, here are the direct links to our event listings on these sites:

http://www.meetup.com/Dorset-Humanists/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dorsethumanists/events/

You can also help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Please email Dave at DHweb2(at)live.co.uk for a PDF copy for you to print and display.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

Hidden Knowledge

Saturday 13^th January 2.00pm 
Moordown Community Centre, Coronation Avenue, Moordown Bournemouth BH9 1TW

With Medical Sociologist Dr Sarah Goode

Is adult sexual attraction to children a psychological disorder, a sexual orientation, a genetic fault, or the result of trauma? The UK National Crime Agency states that around 750,000 men in Britain are sexually attracted to children. And with the NSPCC estimating that one in 20 children are sexually abused (over 36,000 annually), providing effective protection for our children is clearly a huge challenge. If we want to keep children safe from sexual harm, then gaining a better understanding of what we’re dealing with is surely the first step. Dr Sarah Goode has done ground-breaking research in this controversial field, and will be addressing the taboo subject of adult sexual attraction to children. She refrains from demonizing the people who feel this attraction whilst insisting that knowledge, rather than ignorance, is what we need in order to keep children safe.

“Join us for a pragmatic exploration of this emotionally-charged subject, and learn how we can minimise the risk to our children”

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

Please indicate your interest in attending this event on Meetup.com and/or facebook as it helps raise our group’s profile on these sites (Meetup also offers you timely email reminders and an easy way to discover other interesting groups in your area). To help you find them, here are the direct links to our event listings on these sites:

http://www.meetup.com/Dorset-Humanists/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dorsethumanists/events/

You can also help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Please email Dave at DHweb2(at)live.co.uk for a PDF copy for you to print and display.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

Why Everyone Should be a Feminist

Wednesday 24^th May 7.30pm
The Green House Hotel,  4 Grove Road, Bournemouth BH1 3AX

Bournemouth University lecturer Frances Hawkhead

Men and women should have equal rights and opportunities, yet women still earn less than men in Britain and are grossly underrepresented in our company boardrooms. Is this because women naturally prefer the roles which attract less pay, or does our social structure still privilege men? Should we support positive discrimination to increase the number of women in key business and civic roles, or is equal opportunity enough? Do existing cultural gender stereotypes harm men as well as women?

Via a brief history of feminism and an exploration of gender in society, Frances Hawkhead will provide some thought-provoking answers to these and other questions, and will invite us all to become feminists.

Frances Hawkhead  is a lecturer in English, Communication & Media at Bournemouth University.

“Join us for a thought-provoking evening as we discover why we should all be feminists”

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

(The Green House Hotel can also be accessed via its rear entrance in Gervis Road. The hotel has a small onsite car park, and roadside parking is also available in Gervis Road).

Please indicate your interest in attending this event on Meetup.com and/or facebook as it helps raise our group’s profile on these sites (Meetup also offers you timely email reminders and an easy way to discover other interesting groups in your area). To help you find them, here are the direct links to our event listings on these sites:

http://www.meetup.com/Dorset-Humanists/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dorsethumanists/events/

You can also help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

Understanding Transgender

Wednesday 28^th September 7.30pm
The Green House Hotel,  4 Grove Road, Bournemouth BH1 3AX

With Jay Murray

Transgender and transsexual people face a lifetime of inequalities and discrimination. As children, they can be bullied and abused for being gender different, and as adults their families, friends and neighbours can reject them once their trans status is known. They are very likely to experience assault and abuse at home, in the workplace and out on the streets. Many trans people have adopted a policy of living out their lives in secrecy to avoid attention and possibly danger, and British society as a whole remains poorly informed about transgender issues.

In this revealing presentation Jay Murray will relate his experiences of growing up in the wrong body, and recount his subsequent journey towards and beyond his own gender transition with wit, warmth and a humbling openness. In the process he will help us explore what everyone should know about this often misunderstood topic including our legal obligations under the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

“Join us to discover everything you ever wanted to know about transgender but were afraid to ask”

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

(The Green House Hotel can also be accessed via its rear entrance in Gervis Road. The hotel has a small onsite car park, and roadside parking is also available in Gervis Road).

Please indicate your interest in attending this event on Meetup.com and/or facebook as it helps raise our group’s profile on these sites (Meetup also offers you timely email reminders and an easy way to discover other interesting groups in your area). To help you find them, here are the direct links to our event listings on these sites:

http://www.meetup.com/Dorset-Humanists/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dorsethumanists/events/

You can also help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

Women and Humanism

Saturday 9^th January 2016 - 2.00pm 
Moordown Community Centre, Coronation Avenue, Moordown Bournemouth BH9 1TW

with Former Chair of the National Sex Education Forum Jo Adams

All of us deserve the opportunity to be educated, to work, to be healthy and to participate in all aspects of public life.

Yet throughout history, women have been denied many of these rights and religion has played a major part in this oppression and discrimination. So what role does Humanism have to play in advancing gender equality, and what part do women play in modern Humanism?

Jo Adams will examine these issues and discuss ways in which women can be equally represented in a truly egalitarian Humanist movement..

Jo Adams is a member of the Women's Equality Party, and was formerly chair of the National Sex Education Forum and an Adviser to the Department of Health on Sexual Health and Teenage Pregnancy. She is also the author of a number of books relating to self-esteem and positive sexual health.

Join us to hear a compelling case for actively supporting and promoting worldwide gender equality.

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

Please indicate your interest in attending this event on Meetup.com and/or facebook as it helps raise our group’s profile on these sites (Meetup also offers you timely email reminders and an easy way to discover other interesting groups in your area). To help you find them, here are the direct links to our event listings on these sites:

http://www.meetup.com/Dorset-Humanists/

https://www.facebook.com/groups/dorsethumanists/events/

You can also help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

Sigmund Freud: Are Belief Systems Based on an Illusion?

Wednesday 26^th March 7.30pm
The Green House Hotel,  4 Grove Road, Bournemouth BH1 3AX

Sigmund Freud’s writings and therapy are based on views about the human mind that are extraordinarily influential yet challenging and controversial. He was critical of the power and influence of religion, writing extensively about his opposition to religious orthodoxy, and offered psychological explanations for religious belief systems.

In this fully illustrated talk, psychology lecturer and psychotherapist David Croman will cover the key periods of Freud’s life and explain and examine his views on religion, emotions, and sexuality.

“Join us for a fascinating evening as we investigate the controversial life and works of this legendary psychoanalyst”

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

(The Green House Hotel can also be accessed from Gervis Road, which is well lit and has roadside parking).

Please help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.

Sex and Sexuality: A Humanist View

Wednesday 22^nd May 7.30pm
The Green House Hotel,  4 Grove Road, Bournemouth BH1 3AX

Almost all world religions impose rigid rules about what is and is not acceptable in terms of our experience and expression of sex. As a current example, religious groups are lobbying for Abstinence Education for young people, despite the lack of evidence of the success of such approaches.

In this presentation, Jo Adams will explore what a more positive, holistic and person-centred model of sex and sexuality might look like. Join us for a frank and enjoyable evidence-based discussion of this often taboo subject.

Jo Adams is a former Chair of the National Sex Education Forum, and was also a member of the previous Government’s Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV. She is the author of a number of popular books relating to self-esteem and the promotion of positive sexual health, and is a founder member and Chair of our highly successful sister group, West Dorset Humanists.

Free entry (donations appreciated).     Everyone welcome!

(The Green House Hotel can also be easily accessed from Gervis Road, which is better lit and has roadside parking).

Please help us promote Dorset Humanists and this event by displaying an A4 poster. Download an A4 printable copy here, or email Dave at DHcensus(at)hotmail.co.uk for a PDF.

Click here to view details of other forthcoming and recent events on this website.