Knowledge Quarter

A contactless tap, a Lime bike, a driverless vehicle, a walk through King’s Cross - the way Londoners move is now a patchwork of modes, tech and choices that didn’t exist a decade ago.

So what’s next? As the final stop on our Future London journey, join us to explore the technology, infrastructure and ideas reshaping the everyday commute - and what it will take to keep a city of nine million people moving.

We’re delighted to announce that Clare Bailey, Strategic Ecosystems Lead at Lendlease, will be moderating the following panel:

🗣️ Shashi Verma | Director of Technology Strategy, (TfL)
→ Led the development of the Elizabeth Line and responsible for TfL’s revenue collection system, including contactless and the Oyster card.

🗣️ Arthur Kay | Advisor
→ An advisor to organisations making cities better places to live, and Professor of Practice at Institute for Global Prosperity.

🗣️ Alice Pleasant | Senior Public Relations Manager,
→ Working alongside policymakers nationally and locally, she delivers shared e-bike and e-scooter services that boost urban sustainability and connectivity.

📅 Tues 19 May
🕡 17:30 – 19:30
📍 Impact Hub London Euston, Regent’s Place, NW1
🎟️ https://luma.com/FL-Transport

Tickets are £9.60 or FREE for both KQ and London Society members and include a complimentary drink at the bar.

Future London is a public discussion series running through Spring 2026, delivered through a partnership between the and

What’s on this May/June? 😎

KQ EVENTS

5 May | Future London: Technology & Built Environment at
→ Experts from architecture, planning, and construction explore how AI is reshaping the way London is designed, built, and approved. Speakers include representatives from and .
🎟️ Sign up via link in bio

19 May | Future London: Technology & Transport at
→ The final event in our Future London series. Hear from , and more on what it will take to build a transport system fit for the future.
🎟️ Sign up via link in bio

16 June | KQ Private View: ‘The Jolly Postman’ at
🎟️ Sign up via link in bio

17 June | KQ Private View: Summer Student Exhibition at
🎟️ Sign up via link in bio

HIGHLIGHTS: KQ PARTNER EVENTS

21 April–9 May | JEEZUS! at
→ Catholic guilt collides with q***r awakening in 1990s Peru. Award-winning company Alpaqa brings live music, dark humour, and Latin heat to this Edinburgh Fringe smash hit. Use code JEEZUSKQ for 50% off.

11 May | The Cockpit Effect: 40 Years of Craft Excellence at
→ During London Craft Week, Cockpit’s first-ever multimedia exhibition celebrates four decades as one of the UK’s most influential spaces for craft and making.

13 May | Disagreeing Well with
→ A panel of historians, politicians, and writers tackle what reckoning with Britain’s imperial past looks like in 2026, chaired by UCL Professor Hélène Neveu Kringelbach.

→ 8 June | Humanities Summit: Innovation Futures with
A one-day summit co-hosted with KQ exploring how the humanities can drive real-world innovation, with speakers from Google DeepMind, the AHRC, and Zinc Innovation Partners.

→ June–July | A Question of Science with
Live recordings of Brian Cox’s chart-topping science podcast tackling addiction, AI in medicine, and ocean conservation. Tickets on sale 6 May.

Discover more member organisations’ events on our website.

All right here, in your District.

Art and technology have always been intertwined. The printing press, the camera, and the streaming service each opened new worlds for artists and audiences alike.

But today, with generative AI compressing that cycle of change to an unprecedented speed, we may be at the brink of the greatest revolution yet.

What does this brave new world mean for the artist, for culture, and for a city whose creative economy generates £86 billion in GVA for the UK?

On a lively Tuesday evening, the Knowledge Quarter and The London Society explored this question at the first event in our new Future London series.

The concerns raised by the panel were urgent and unresolved. Central was the copyright crisis: creators are losing work because generative AI models have been trained on their output without permission or compensation. Entry-level jobs are disappearing. The talent pipeline that nurtures the next generation of artists is under threat.

Yet the panel resisted a purely pessimistic reading. Live events continue to thrive. Museum footfall is growing, thanks to more personalised experiences. Barriers to creative production are coming down, and art that was once niche is reaching mass audiences. Many great opportunities are emerging from new technology, but integrity, authorship and fair compensation must be honoured.

Reflecting on what 2035 might look like, the panel closed on a note of cautious optimism. Artists have always adapted. The printing press, the camera, and the streaming service each threatened to end something and also ended up creating something new and amazing.

The questions we’re left with: will AI go the same way? And what can we do now to ensure it does?

A huge thank you to our speakers Mark Farid (), Dan Patton (), Deborah Annetts () and Léllé Demertzi (), and to Michael John Harris () for moderating such a thought-provoking conversation.

👉 Future London continues 24 March with our second event on emerging technologies & sustainability, sign up via link in bio!



This post was written with generative AI support.