Es Devlin Hosts AI Ethics Summit Through Ceramic Workshop at Oxford Kilns

Artist and stage designer Es Devlin organized the AI and Earth conference at Oxford Kilns, bringing together AI researchers, spiritual leaders, academics, and tech experts to discuss artificial intelligence while creating ceramic vessels. The event served as preparation for the opening ceremony of Oxford University's Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, which will feature Devlin's installation 360 Vessels created with composer Nico Muhly. During the workshop, participants shaped 160-million-year-old Jurassic clay into pots while debating topics ranging from Alan Turing's test and Isaac Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics to Ethan Mollick's co-intelligence concepts and the Compost computer prototype. The University Chamber Choir will perform Muhly's choral piece drawing from 17th-century poet Thomas Traherne at the opening festival, where 360 pots—including those made at the conference and public workshops—will be arranged beneath the centre's octagonal dome. Devlin noted she deliberately invited participants with divergent viewpoints, inspired by intergroup dialogue practices observed at a monastery retreat involving figures like diplomat Christiana Figueres. One potter highlighted how AI discussions often exclude perspectives from developing regions, while Devlin reflected on her decade-long exploration of large language models and references to Shoshana Zuboff's surveillance capitalism theories. The Schwarzman Centre represents Oxford University's largest building project to date, featuring public spaces including a gallery, cinema, two theatres, and the world's first Passivhaus concert hall, housing the Institute for Ethics in AI.