CIPD Festival of Work welcomes world’s first cyborg artist and former world chess champion as keynote speakers

This pioneering festival which will provide a wide range of experiences and events for visitors and delegates will explore the future of work in new ways and tackle the biggest issues in the workplace. A range of topical issues including artificial intelligence, automation, well-being, diversity and inclusion, leadership, and the future of learning will be addressed. Specialised workshops on race, menopause and LGBT identity in the workplace sold out in a matter of hours, and over 60 free learning sessions and 50 conference sessions are available across two action-packed days.

The festival, hosted at Olympia London (June 12th-13th) by the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, will see over 7,000 professionals in attendance with a wide range of backgrounds and interests. Attendees will be joined by the world’s first cyborg artist, Neil Harbisson, and former world chess champion, Garry Kasparov, as keynote speakers.

Emphasising the festival’s key focus around the future of work, they are set to give insightful talks on topics such as; the role of human creativity in the future of work; and the integration between people and machines. This comes at a crucial time considering business leaders, HR and L&D professionals are eager to learn how they can drive growth and unlock the potential of their people in a progressively changing workplace.

The opening address will come from Kasparov, ranked world No.1 chess champion from 1986-2005. He was the first world champion to be beaten by the IBM supercomputer during his infamous six-game match (1997). He has since become a thought leader on the critical partnership between people and machine intelligence. Garry’s opening keynote speech, ‘The future of work is human’ looks at where machine intelligence ends and human creativity begins.

Harbisson will conclude the event. In 2013 he became the world’s first completely colour blind person to have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled antenna implanted in his skull, translating different wavelengths into vibrations. This allows him to perceive colours as sound. He is the first person to be legally recognised as a cyborg by a government. He is a fascinating example of how humans can physically embrace technological augmentation and adapt to the changing world of work. His closing keynote, ‘The renaissance of our species’ explores the potential integration between humans and machines.

Peter Cheese, the chief executive of the CIPD, looks ahead to the festival: “ The Festival of Work brings together speakers from business and political leaders, practitioners and policy makers, to technologists and futurologists to explore the changes that are happening in the world of work.

There is also an exciting range of exhibitors sharing their innovations and ideas for the future.

For all of us, the future of work presents opportunities and challenges, but we also have many issues today that we need to step up to. The Festival will provide many different forums, formats, and ways of exploring, learning, and engaging, and we look forward to welcoming all our visitors and delegates”