Subject: News from the University Church of St Mary the Virgin

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Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence
It was recently announced that the University of Oxford is to provide the home of a new Institute for Ethics in Artificial Intelligence. It will form part of a new Centre for the Humanities, following a generous donation of £150 million to the University.

Clearly, this area of research has struck a chord. The brave new world of artificial intelligence is coming to a mobile phone, hospital or supermarket near you. What are the challenges and opportunities autonomous systems may bring as they are more deeply integrated with our human experience?

On Monday 21 October, at 7.30pm, the Rt Revd Steven Croft, the Bishop of Oxford, will be in conversation with Professor Luciano Floridi, Professor of Philosophy and Ethics Information in the University of Oxford. Bishop Steven is currently a member of the House of Lords Select Committee on AI. He is interested in the way in which this technology will shape our understanding of human identity. Likewise, Professor Floridi is intrigued by the notion of human ‘exceptionalism’ in respect to any other entity or creature. How will AI impact on human self-understanding?

This event is offered as part of the IF-Oxford Science and Ideas Festival. Lots of people have already indicated that they are coming, so please do join us for what promises to be a fascinating evening. 

The Revd Dr William Lamb
Vicar
The Week Ahead

This Sunday

Sunday 20 October The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity
10.30 Choral Eucharist with University Sermon- Nave
15.30 Choral Eucharist - Chancel

Weekday Services

Monday
9.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15 Eucharist - Chancel 
18.00 Choral Evensong - New College
19.30  Moot - Old Library

Tuesday
9.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15 Eucharist - Chancel 
18.00 Book Club - Keepers

Wednesday
9.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15 Eucharist - Chancel
17.30  Poetry Workshop - Old Library

Thursday
9.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15 Eucharist - Chancel 
13.00 Lunchtime Bible Study - Old Library 
17.30 Writing Together - Old Library

Friday  Crispin and Crispinian
9.00 Morning Prayer - Chancel
12.15 Eucharist - Chancel 
18.30 Choral Evensong  - Queen's College 

Saturday
18.00 Choral Evensong - Magdalen College 

For full listings of weekly evening services across the University, see our website.

Next Sunday
Sunday 27 October The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity

10.30 Choral Eucharist 
Preacher: Professor Elizabeth Dutton
12.00  Imagining the Future - Old Library

15.30 Jazz Vespers - Chancel
Bookclub

Tuesdays 15 October - 4 December
6 - 7pm
Keepers, 73 High Street, Oxford


Flannery O’Connor’s short stories evoke heat and dust, family and feuding, God and grace, where unmitigated violence gives way to spiritual change and the myth of the deep South permeates the fabric of reality.

Each week, someone introduces a discussion on one of the stories.

22 October - The Revd Dr Will Lamb, The Life You Save May be Your Own

29 October - Philip O'Neill,  A View of the Woods

5 November - Anna Dill, The Lame Shall Enter First

12 November - John Olson, A Temple of the Holy Ghost

19 November - Lauren M, Why Do the Heathen Rage?

26 November - Laura Roberts, Revelation

3 December - Judgment Day

For more details, contact Ana-Maria Niculcea (ana-maria.niculcea@universitychurch.ox.ac.uk)
Moot: The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence

Monday 21 October, 7.30pm

This meeting will take place in the Nave. Access through the High Street entrance.

The brave new world of artificial intelligence is coming to a mobile phone, hospital or a supermarket near you. What are the challenges and opportunities autonomous systems may bring as they are more deeply integrated with our human experience?


Join this conversation between the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, the Bishop of Oxford, and Professor Luciano Floridi, Professor of Philosophy and Ethics Information in the University of Oxford.

This event is offered as part of the IF-Oxford Science and Ideas Festival. Pay What You Decide (PWYD) tickets available here.
The Other Inklings

While C S Lewis and J R R Tolkien often take centre stage when discussing the theological ideas associated with the literary group known as the Inklings, the contributions of some of their principal conversation partners are often neglected. These thinkers were at the cutting edge of attempts to think anew about the Christian faith in ways that would meet the challenges and insights of contemporary life.

7.30pm in the Old Library. Entrance via the Vaults Cafe.



Wednesday 30 October 
Charles Williams and a Vision of Co-Inherence - Professor Paul Fiddes

Wednesday 6 November
Owen Barfield and the Evolution of Human Consciousness - Dr Mark Vernon

Wednesday 13 November
Dorothy L Sayers and the Passionate Intellect - Seona Ford

Space: God, the Universe and Everything! 
Oxford Festival of Light

Saturday 16 November, 5.30pm - 9.30pm, entrance via High Street

We are proud to be hosting a stunning visual spectacle inspired by the Moon landing. Created by the award-winning Luxmuralis artistic collaboration, the exhibition features internal Son-et-Lumiere, artworks, and sound and light installations that transform the internal space of the church.
 
The Oxford Winter Night Shelter 

We are recruiting volunteers for January-March 2020, when once again churches will offer beds to up to 20 rough sleepers a night. Last year 300 people volunteered for evening, night and early morning shifts. Of the guests who made use of the shelters, over half did not return to rough sleeping. To volunteer this year, visit ownsoxford.org.uk, and register for a training/refresher session.
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