please save the date!
OUR NEXT DCM SEEKING WISDOM CONFERENCE WILL BE 21-22 MARCH 2025 (9TH WEEK HILARY TERM)
Please do save the dates for our next two DCM Conferences, ‘Christianity and the Life of the Mind’ on Friday 31 January & Saturday 1 February 2025 (2nd Week Hilary Term) and ‘Seeking Wisdom’ on Friday 21 & Saturday 22 March 2025 (9th Week Hilary Term). An example programme from our 2024 Natural Sciences Stream can be found below.
Natural Sciences Stream
Friday: A Christian Perspective on Lab culture
saturday: a focus on Ai & humility in Healthcare
Including all disciplines that are part of the Medical Sciences and MPLS (Mathematical, Physical, Life Sciences) Division at the University of Oxford.
Friday 15th March (3:30pm to 9:00pm) and Saturday 16th March (9:00am to 3:30pm)
Magdalen College, Oxford
Senior convener: Ard Louis, Professor, Theoretical Physics
Convener: Samantha (Sam) O’Sullivan, DPhil, Physics
How can postgraduates, postdocs, and academics at the University of Oxford approach the natural sciences as Christians? What does it mean to respond to a Christian vocation and to honour God in university life?
The Natural and Medical Sciences Stream includes talks on science and Christian faith including a panel of Christian academics on Friday afternoon. On Saturday the focus will be on the Medical Sciences.
The Natural Sciences Stream includes all MPLS disciplines and welcomes those in the Medical Sciences. It is one of four disciplinary streams that make up Seeking Wisdom, the spring conference of Developing a Christian Mind. Past attendees are encouraged to come, listen to new talks, and take part in discussion with new attendees.
**Please note our eligibility criteria: This event is for University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes postgraduates, postdocs, academic staff. If you do not fit this criteria, are DCM Alumni, or in a continuing education program, please complete this form and we will review your request **
Friday 15th March
3:30 pm Registration in Magdalen College’s Old Kitchen Bar with coffee & tea
4:00 pm A critique of lab culture - Stephen Blundell, Professor, Condensed Matter Physics
5:00 pm Panel of Christians in the sciences, medicine, and engineering including Ard Louis, Professor, Theoretical Physics, Stephen Blundell, Professor, Condensed Matter Physics, and Kezia Gaitskell, Consultant & Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, Pathology
The following events are held jointly with all streams at New College.
6:00 pm Prayer in Magdalen College Auditorium
6:30 pm Walking together from Magdalen College to New College
6:40 pm Drinks at the New College Bar
7:30 pm Dinner in the New College Dining Hall
Saturday 16th March
9:00 am Registration in Magdalen College’s Old Kitchen Bar with coffee & tea
9:05 am Prayer in Magdalen College Chapel
9:30 am A Christian perspective on Generative AI - Lionel Tarassenko, Professor, Electrical Engineering, President, Reuben College; Chaired by Marta Wojciechowska, Postdoc, Digital Pathology
Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT are the best-known examples of Generative AI. One of the leading figures in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) world, a committed atheist, recently said in a public lecture in Oxford that LLMs understood language and hallucinated just like human beings. The Chair of MIT’s Media Lab, in contrast, has gone on the record as saying that every human being is made in the image of God, an attribute that cannot be built into AI.
In his talk, Lionel Tarassenko will explain the basic principles of LLMs and then show how their properties may be analysed to reach conclusions, from a Christian perspective, about the differences between generative AI and human beings.
11:00 am Coffee & tea in the Old Kitchen Bar
11:30 am Theological Reflection on AI - Joshua Hordern, Professor, Christian Ethics
11:45 am Panel Discussion on AI - Joshua Hordern, Professor, Christian Ethics; Lionel Tarassenko, Professor, Electrical Engineering, President, Reuben College; Jeremy Basset, Founder & CEO, Super Benji; Chaired by Kezia Gaitskell, Consultant & Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer, Pathology
1:00 pm Lunch
2:00 pm Humility in Healthcare - Paul Johnson, Professor, Paediatric Surgery
The public image of healthcare professionals is one of compassion, kindness, and self-effacing servanthood. Indeed, the National Health Service was built on this premise. Sadly, the reality today can be very different, with hospitals and clinical departments frequently divided by professional rivalry, competition for patients, and ruthless personal ambition. Paul will explore this paradox and remind us that Christians working in Healthcare are called to be counter-cultural and transformative, demonstrating Christ-like humility in clinical care, research, and healthcare leadership roles.
2:25 pm Living as a Christian in the academic world - Carolyn Taylor, Professor, Oncology, Consultant Clinical Oncologist
Christians in academic medical science face particular joys and challenges. There can be ups and downs in conducting research, gaining and maintaining funding, and working with others. How can we live for Christ in the academic world? Carolyn will consider some aims and priorities, and think about how to keep our eyes fixed on what matters most.
2:50 pm Discussion Chaired by John Gallacher, Professor, Psychology, Director, Dementias Platform UK
3:30 pm Closing