The Conversation is an independent source of news and views, sourced from the academic and research community and delivered direct to the public.
Latest articles
- Five reasons Warhammer 40,000 should be considered a great work of science fiction
- Encyclopedia Britannica once published a catalogue of humanity’s ‘102 Great Ideas’ – and it created more questions than answers
- Gran Turismo: why this glorified advert fails where Barbie succeeded
- How governments are using science fiction to predict potential threats
- Foundation: an introduction to five major themes in the work of science fiction writer Isaac Asimov
- It could be time to start thinking about a cybernetic Bill of Rights
- Visions of the future: five dark warnings from the world of classic science fiction
- Insurance black boxes and the surveillance state – how free are you, really?
I’ve featured in many news publications including The Scotsman, The Independent and The Daily Star. I’ve also also appeared on several radio programmes and television shows, providing expert comment on robots, AI and other areas relating to technology, ethics and futures-thinking.
Recent activity
- Why Warhammer Matters (Sci Phi Journal, December 2024)
- Digital Marketing and Social Media (Marketing Matters Podcast, June 2024)
- Lessons from teaching mixed-sized cohorts (Scholarship Matters, May 2024)
- The Internship Challenge (54 Degrees, May 2024)
- Dealing with uncertainty – Time to move beyond Kolb? (Coaching Perspectives, January 2024)
- Is AI going to take your job? (TRTWorld, March 2023)
- DoD AI Drones That Can Recognize Faces Pose Ethical Minefield (Newsweek, Feb 2023)
- A Grim Far Future, or a Dark Present (54 Degrees, July 2021)
- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Business (54 Degrees, July 2020)
- ROBOTS: Time to think about laws? (TRTWorld, Jan 2020)
- Science faction? (Mensa, Nov 2019)
- News focus: VAR controversy (tbs eFM)
- Evil genius: Fly, my pretties, fly! (IET)
- Killer robots are not science fiction – they have been part of military defence for a while (The Independent)
- Scientists create DNA robots that eat and EVOLVE ‘blurring line’ between life and machine (The Daily Star)
Consultancy
I provide bespoke marketing consultancy services. My expertise includes PR and marketing communications, digital marketing and analytics, strategy, and branding.
Clients
- Havas SO (London)
- University of Central Lancashire
- Lancaster University
- Canterbury Christ Church University
On behalf of Lancaster University:
- The Big Food Project
- AG International Ltd
MJRyder.net started way back in 2008 as a personal portfolio and blog. Over the years, the website has developed to encompass the many different aspects of my professional and academic career to become the website you see before you today.
Sharing expertise
I also volunteer my time as a member of the Board of Trustees at Motive8 College, sharing my experience to help make difference to the lives of young people in Bradford.
Links
In The Zone is a podcast collaboration between myself (Dr Mike Ryder) and fellow academic, Dr Josh Hughes. Described by one listener as ‘interesting chats with Mike and Josh’, each week, we take up a subject that we think is particularly interesting, and relate it back to our research and the wider world of academia. We also interview fellow researchers and review relevant books and films.
Latest episodes
- Enter the metaverse…
- The murky world of NFTs
- Workplace surveillance
- Hawk Eye and the problem of functional autonomy
- Snow Crash and the virtual world
- Coronavirus, ecofascism and social change
- AI content creators and the future of news
- Working in the home
- What makes a robot ‘female’?
- Dog breeding and dangerous dogs