News

  • Upcoming Event at the Centre for History and Philosophy of Physics (HAPP)

    A Physical History of Navigation: Saturday 22 November 2025 This conference will examine the physical history of navigation, beginning with how ancient civilisations navigated by the stars and other celestial bodies, then considering navigation by land, sea and air using various instruments (prior to modern technology) and concluding with the developments in modern technology for navigation including in space. Location: Mathematical Institute, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GGDate: Saturday 22 November 2025Time: 10:30am – 17:00pm GMT Programme 10.30am: WELCOME10.40am: Professor Joseph Caruana (University of Malta) – Celestial Navigation in Ancient Times11.30am: Dr Jane Wess (formerly University of Edinburgh) – A History of Land Navigation Instruments Before the Digital Era12.20pm: Daisy Chamberlain (Royal Museums…

  • Our Support of the Centre for The History and Philosophy of Physics (HAPP)

    Based at St Cross College at the University of Oxford, HAPP does not simply focus on chronicling the history of the discipline of physics as a retrospective exercise but also critically engages with the philosophy and the methodologies which inform how current research in physics is undertaken. HAPP is independently funded, primarily through donations, to which our group has recently provided financial support. The funding is used to promote events and essays of relevance to physics as a scientific and ethical discipline. For more information and news visit the HAPP website.

  • New: A Autumn Term for 2025 comprising 10 presentations

    GXPG used to only meet in person at Gerrards Cross Community Centre, limiting attendees to those who lived in the area. We were able to continue be going online with meetings over Zoom. Then, as lockdown restrictions eased we ran hybrid Zoom meetings with the meetings at Gerrards Cross also being available by Zoom which also had the advantage of recording the sessions. However, after an initial term attendance in person had not picked up sufficient and the meetings reverted to Zoom only Starting on Monday 6th October, and finishing on Monday 8th December, we are back at Gerrards Cross…

  • GXPG Forum

    The website does not have a place for member interaction in the current version. For updates and discussions following the meetings a WhatsApp group has been set up. If you are interested in what is being discussed or have something to say yourself then you can request joining by sending an Email to admin@gxpg.co.uk. The WhatsApp group is open to GXPG members only.

  • Thinking Machines and the Ethics of AI

    Oxford University Department for Continuing Education Date: Sat 08 Feb 2025 Time: 10:15am-5:30pm Location: Online or Rewley House 1 Wellington Square, Oxford, OX1 2JA For full details and to join the event, visit the website here. Overview Robots, cyborgs and AI systems fire our imaginations and have inspired many movies, from HAL in 2001: A Space Odyssey to Data in Star Trek and Skynet in The Terminator. What moral issues do they raise? This day will explore the question of whether AI, robots and cyborgs (part biological, part machine) could ever be conscious and/or deserving of moral consideration, and the…