Olivia PowellThe Brewery and Speakers Corner recently opened its doors for the latest instalment of the Knowledge Guild series.
Compered by BAFTA-nominated BBC news journalist Clive Myrie, and attended by companies such as Headbox, Deloitte, PAY UK and BT, the open house evening illuminated how the power of technology is changing how we live, think and behave.
The first Knowledge Guild of the year featured insights from speakers including Trust Fellow at Oxford University, author and a leading thinker on trust in the modern world Rachel Botsman; former head of Lego Group’s Emerging Platform team and voice technology expert, James Poulter; and co-founder of Open Bionics, Samantha Payne.
The 160-strong audience heard personal stories on everything from AI, voice and wearable technology, to robotics and prosthetics, as speakers discussed the ways in which they have harnessed technology to transform their ideas into reality.
The evening began with Samantha Payne’s innovative work with robotics, fashion and wearable tech to create affordable and inspirational prosthetics, allowing her to use technology ‘to turn disability into superpower’, James Poulter explored the future of offices, technology, conversational AI and social media, stating that businesses ‘needed to go back to more humanised computing’, before Rachel Botsman, named as one of the top 20 speakers in the world by Monocle, delivered a thought-provoking insight on trust in the modern world, where she covered the idea that ‘trust is highly subjective and contextual’.
All Knowledge Guild events end with a panellist Q&A and networking over curated drinks and canapes. Guests enjoyed a drinks reception and tasted new dishes from The Brewery’s sustainable menu, designed by Director of Food, Tom Gore, especially for the event. Dishes included a super green bao, with sweet potato bubble, sriracha honey and wasabi peas, a ‘beetroot cornetto’ with whipped goats cheese, orange and thyme, British ox cheek with horseradish mayonnaise and tempura seasonal vegetables with asparagus, radish top puree and caramelised shallot yogurt, finished off with a dessert cocktail of gin, homemade blackcurrant cordial, apple blossom and meringue.
The Knowledge Guild is a partnership between The Brewery and Speakers Corner, offering a mixture of world-class speakers and exceptional individuals discussing pertinent topics in a panel discussion.