LSE Research channel | Video

Contributor(s): Dr Stephanie Schwartz | The number of refugees worldwide has nearly doubled in the past decade. Amid this rise in forced migration, the humanitarian community touts voluntary repatriation as the preferred solution to displacement crises. States are also pressuring refugees to return. The driving assumption is that refugee return is primarily a logistical obstacle and once refugees return to their home countries, they will resettle peacefully and stay put. In this talk, Dr Stephanie Schwartz discusses her research on how refugee return can create new sources of conflict in refugees’ countries of origin, often leading to repeat displacement. The talk will explore what these findings mean for international organisations and governments promoting refugee return as a ‘‘durable solution’’ for displacement crises. Dr Stephanie Schwartz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of International Relations at LSE. Find out more about the LSE Research Showcase events: https://www.lse.ac.uk/research/lse-research-showcase Read more about LSE research in Research for the World, our online social science magazine: https://www.lse.ac.uk/research/research-for-the-world

Contributor(s): Dr Tom Reader | Most organisations receive complaints from their end-users and stakeholders, and this feedback can be essential for both correcting problems and driving innovation. However, many organisations struggle to learn from complaints. As a result, opportunities for improvement can be lost and problems that threaten the organisation can escalate and grow. In this talk, Dr Tom Reader explores LSE research looking at how, through culture change and harnessing artificial intelligence, healthcare organisations can improve quality and safety by learning from the insights contained within complaints sent by patients and families. Tom Reader is Associate Professor of Organisational Psychology in the Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science at LSE https://www.lse.ac.uk/people/tom-reader Find out more about the LSE Research Showcase events: https://www.lse.ac.uk/research/lse-research-showcase Read more about LSE research in Research for the World, our online social science magazine: https://www.lse.ac.uk/research/research-for-the-world

Contributor(s): Dr Alison Powell | With the NHS frequently described as ‘‘in crisis’’, some have positioned partnerships with tech start-ups as the solution. Yet, the values and incentives of venture-backed start-ups can conflict with the public interest principles that define the NHS. In this talk, Dr Alison Powell draws on a new study to tell the cautionary tale of Babylon Health, which went bankrupt in 2023, to show the tension between ‘‘blitzscaling’’ – a tech-oriented business growth strategy – and the values underpinning NHS clinical practice. The talk will investigate how ideas about speed and scaling, as well as claims about the power of AI, influenced clinical labour practice and medical device regulation – with implications for future public interest technology development.

Contributor(s): Dr Carrie Friese | The ‘‘crisis of care’’ is often understood as an economic and political issue in which the work of caring for others has been devalued. However, this lens can overlook the experiences of those involved in care work. Can observing the treatment of rats and mice in biomedical science offer another understanding of care? Drawing on ethnographic research into laboratory animals and those who look after them, Dr Carrie Friese’s new book, A Mouse in a Cage, proposes a different way of viewing, and valuing, care work.

Contributor(s): Beatriz Lopez Buarque | In this video, we break down the Southport riots of 2024 — and how generative AI misinformation played a shocking role in fuelling UK civil unrest. From AI-generated fake images to spreading anti-Muslim and anti-Islam conspiracy theories, this explainer unpacks how false visuals spread online and ignited real-world violence. Was this a case of AI and social unrest colliding? Or a warning about how generative AI controversy in the UK could shape our future? LSE Fellow Beatriz Lopez Buarque explores how the Southport riots started on X and ended in the worst far-right rioting we have seen in the UK since the Second World War and how it is more important than ever that there is fact-checking in place on social media platforms. New videos every month on AI, technology and their impact on society 👉 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK4elntcUEy1_ckZz-Q1KjWvVSVOFXkh9 Read more here: https://www.lse.ac.uk/AI

Contributor(s): | What if making babies didn’t require sperm or eggs? In this video see the cutting-edge technology that could revolutionise how we treat infertility, and transform medicine altogether. We speak to LSE Professor Emily Jackson to understand this rapidly developing new science and the ethical and legal questions that surround embryo models. “Developmental biology is raising issues that are just as significant as AI, where the social, ethical, legal, cultural implications are just as important, and we need social scientists to be thinking about those.” Scientists are using induced pluripotent stem cells to create organoids, model diseases, and potentially generate sperm and eggs from skin cells, offering hope for those facing infertility. Discover how breakthroughs in stem cell research, CRISPR, and regenerative medicine are transforming our understanding of biology and medicine, and what this means for the future of IVF, and human development.

Contributor(s): | How did the transatlantic slave trade and British colonial rule shape modern race relations in the UK? This film explores the deep and often overlooked ties between Britain and the Anglophone Caribbean—and how centuries of empire, slavery, systemic racism, and neglect laid the foundations for the racial inequalities we see in Britain today. Focusing on Britain’s colonial legacy in the British West Indies—including Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad—Dr Imaobong Umoren traces the economic and ideological roots of empire, from plantation slavery to the Windrush scandal. Her research connects these histories to 20th-century migration, particularly the arrival of the Windrush generation, and to ongoing debates about race, citizenship, and national identity in modern Britain. 🔴 Check out the new book by Imaobong Umoren on this research: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/443176/empire-without-end-by-umoren-imaobong/9781911717034 🔴 Dr Imaobong Umoren is an associate professor of International History at LSE: https://www.lse.ac.uk/International-History/People/academicStaff/umoren/umoren

Contributor(s): | Could artificial intelligence already be conscious? Are today’s AI systems truly aware — or are we just projecting human qualities onto machines? We speak to Professor Jonathan Birch to explore the science and ethics of AI sentience. As machine learning systems like ChatGPT become more advanced, questions about consciousness in AI are becoming impossible to ignore. From unexplained emergent behaviours to the possibility of strange new forms of awareness, could we be facing a moral blind spot?

Contributor(s): | Is artificial intelligence the solution to the National Health Service? Can we use technology to help reduce wait times in Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments at hospitals in the UK? As the NHS celebrates its 76th anniversary, we talk to Dr Laura Gilbert who tells us about how AI can help with simple processes that can give time back to NHS workers. How AI isn’t about taking away jobs in the NHS but giving doctors, nurses and pharmacists more time with patients.

Contributor(s): | From writing emails and generating art to reshaping industries, artificial intelligence is transforming daily life. But what powers artificial intelligence? And how stable is the infrastructure it's built on? AI isn’t just software — it’s hardware, geopolitics, rare earth mining, and an energy-hungry race for dominance. As AI becomes more embedded in our lives, the need to understand its material foundations has never been more urgent. In this video, we explore the fragile and often invisible supply chain behind AI, including the mining of rare earth metals, the role of GPUs and semiconductors, and the massive energy demands driving this new digital gold rush. From TSMC's advanced microchip manufacturing in Taiwan, to ASML’s one-of-a-kind EUV lithography machines in the Netherlands, and NVIDIA’s dominance in powering generative AI, we break down the six key stages behind today’s most powerful AI systems. Dr Nils Peters explains why even a small disruption to this global network could have huge consequences — not just for big tech, but for all of us.

Contributor(s): | In this film, we explore how cutting-edge artificial intelligence is being developed to assist event security and police forces in managing public safety at large-scale gatherings. We speak with Professor Tom Kirchmaier about a groundbreaking project in collaboration with Greater Manchester Police, aiming to predict and prevent crowd crush incidents, like the Astroworld disaster before they turn deadly. This emerging technology could shape the future of crowd control—and save lives. To find out more about N-AI: www.n-ai.com

Contributor(s): Dr SM Rodriguez | When we think of law enforcement, we often focus on arrests and formal legal processes. But laws like Uganda’s sodomy legislation extend their reach far beyond the courtroom, working through moral panics, societal surveillance, and proxy laws to marginalise LGBTQ+ individuals. This talk explores how politically motivated laws can hide the extent of the harms that they enact. Dr SM Rodriguez challenges us to rethink enforcement by revealing how legal and societal forces intertwine—and considers that decriminalisation is required for antiviolent futures.

Contributor(s): Dr Aiko Holvikivi | The practice of "gender training" has gained widespread popularity among numerous professions in the last few decades, even becoming a requirement for soldiers and police officers deploying overseas as peacekeepers. But what happens when the concept of gender, put forth through feminist activism and scholarship, is taken up by powerful institutions shaped by traditional notions of masculinity? In this talk, Dr Aiko Holvikivi shares findings from her recent book, "Fixing Gender", to discuss the dynamics of this training. She argues that gender training can, paradoxically, both challenge and reinforce existing hierarchies in global politics.

Contributor(s): Professor Patrick Wallis | For more than a century, apprenticeship in England has been in crisis. Brief moments of optimistic expansion have been punctured by political and economic shocks. Yet it was not always so. Before 1800, apprenticeship was a thriving and vital part of the economy. Drawing on his new book, "The Market for Skill", Professor Patrick Wallis describes how apprenticeship helped transform England from a backwards, rural economy and laid the foundations for the first Industrial Revolution."The Market for Skill" by Patrick Wallis (Princeton University Press, April 2025) https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691265315/the-market-for-skill?srsltid=AfmBOooOXKCKugyMP3asqUidEd70podU1xnjwQEOSFs5rIxAD3oU-YvRPatrick Wallis is a professor of Economic History at LSE and Head of the Department of Economic History: https://www.lse.ac.uk/Economic-History/People/Faculty-and-teachers/Wallis/Professor-Patrick-Wallis Find out more about the LSE Research Showcase events: https://www.lse.ac.uk/researchshowcase Read more about LSE research in Research for the World, our online social science magazine: https://www.lse.ac.uk/research/research-for-the-world

Contributor(s): | Will artificial intelligence and automation cause huge unemployment? Is the tech revolution going to deliver on its promises of transformational change to workplaces, the economy and beyond? We speak to Professor Judy Wajcman to uncover the truth behind the hype, and separate AI myths from reality. Whilst Silicon Valley might have captured our imagination about the future of work, and have its own ambitions for workforce disruption, with a few lessons from history and a refocusing on what matters, perhaps we can rewrite the AI revolution.

Contributor(s): Professor Robert Falkner | The market is one of the primary institutions of the society of states, but it is an exceptionally contradictory and frequently unstable one. Having emerged in the mid-19th century and gone through alternating periods of consolidation and contestation since the early 20th century, the market currently faces renewed challenge and opposition as economic nationalism is on the rise again. Drawing on his new book "The Market in Global International Society" (co-authored with Professor Barry Buzan), Professor Robert Falkner considers the nature of the market as an international institution and explores the reasons behind its instability in an age of geopolitical strife and great power conflict. "The Market in Global International Society: An English School Approach to International Political Economy," by Barry Buzan and Robert Falkner (Oxford Academic, January 2025): https://academic.oup.com/book/59007 Robert Falkner is Professor of International Relations at LSE: https://www.lse.ac.uk/international-relations/people/falkner Find out more about the LSE Research Showcase events: https://www.lse.ac.uk/researchshowcase Read more about LSE research in Research for the World, our online social science magazine: https://www.lse.ac.uk/research/research-for-the-world

Contributor(s): | How reliable is artificial intelligence in critical, high-stakes situations? We speak to Professor Elizabeth Stokoe to explore the limitations of AI in emergency service calls. Through conversation analysis, we break down the science behind the viral 911 pizza delivery call—revealing the hidden signals that AI-powered dispatch systems or voice assistants might miss. Can AI truly support police and ambulance dispatchers in life-or-death moments, or are human instincts and reactions still essential?

Contributor(s): Professor J. McKenzie Alexander | In The Open Society and its Enemies, Karl Popper defended the Open Society – a conception of liberal democracy in which individuals have freedom of choice – against external ideological threats presented by totalitarian and authoritarian leaders. However, today's threats to the Open Society come primarily from within, through populist movements on both left and right. Drawing on his recent LSE Press book, Professor J. McKenzie Alexander identifies some of the ways in which the Open Society has come to be seen as an enemy – as a vice, a danger or a threat – and offers a new defence of its core principles. "The Open Society as an Enemy" J. McKenzie Alexander (LSE Press, 2024) https://press.lse.ac.uk/site/books/m/10.31389/lsepress.ose/ J. McKenzie Alexander is Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method at LSE. https://www.lse.ac.uk/cpnss/people/Jason-McKenzie-Alexander Find out more about the LSE Research Showcase events: https://www.lse.ac.uk/researchshowcase Read more about LSE research in Research for the World, our online social science magazine: https://www.lse.ac.uk/research/research-for-the-world

Contributor(s): Professor Emily Jackson | Scientists, policymakers and regulators agree that public engagement is necessary and valuable for building understanding of new scientific developments, promoting public trust in science, and deciding how best to regulate emerging technologies. In this talk, Professor Emily Jackson discusses her work with the design agency, The Liminal Space, on two public engagement projects – one on egg freezing in 2017, and more recently on the regulation of embryo models. How can we draw attention to possible futures that might lie ahead in innovative and creative ways and prompt public conversations about new technologies and their wider social and ethical implications? Emily Jackson is a professor of law in LSE's Law School https://www.lse.ac.uk/law/people/academic-staff/emily-jackson Find out more about the LSE Research Showcase events: https://www.lse.ac.uk/researchshowcase Read more about LSE research in Research for the World, our online social science magazine: https://www.lse.ac.uk/research/research-for-the-world

Contributor(s): | Governments worldwide invest heavily to project a positive image on the global stage, spending billions to host events like the #WorldCup or #Olympics in hopes of building prestige and soft power. What happens when the unity and success they aim to showcase clash with the real struggles of their people? What happens when citizens flood the streets to challenge this glossy narrative and offer a different vision of national identity? #Brazil’s protests before the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympics may provide clues to these questions. Dr César Jiménez-Martínez is Assistant Professor in the Department of Media and Communications at LSE: https://www.lse.ac.uk/media-and-communications/people/academic-staff/cesar-jimenez-martinez #Football #Brasil