Lord Mayor calls on London to use its unparallel global connections to address global challenges in areas like AI and climate change
The 695th Lord Mayor of the City of London, Professor Michael Mainelli, will highlight how London’s strengths in financial services, technology, and access to talent provide it with unparalleled global connections, necessary to become a world leader in future industries such as space, artificial intelligence, and quantum.
The Lord Mayor presented his theme, “Connect to Prosper,” in a speech at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet at Guildhall, attended by business and political leaders, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
As part of “Connect to Prosper,” the Lord Mayor has launched the ‘695th Lord Mayor’s Ethical AI Initiative’, a program offering ethics courses for AI professionals, starting with over 100 registered financial firms.
Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli will say (please check against delivery):
“I see the City as the world’s Coffee House. A place where thought leaders develop solutions to improve people’s lives. Built on the rule of law; with an enabling regulatory environment; access to incredible talent and skills; and unparalleled global connections; a place… in short… where people ‘Connect to Prosper.’
“The City is – rightly – known for its leadership in financial and professional services. But it’s now also the biggest tech center in the country. With a workforce that includes scientists, engineers, and technicians, as well as bankers, insurers, and lawyers.
“We are shining a spotlight on these and other areas of strength – what I think of as the City’s ‘Knowledge Miles’ – by hosting an online lecture series with expert talks from City figures on topics from AI to fusion to quantum.”
The Lord Mayor will highlight that the City of London is home to 40 learned societies, 70 higher education institutions, 130 research institutes, and more than 24,000 businesses – with more than 300 languages spoken. And will encourage greater connections between these institutions to find solutions to global challenges such as poor mental health and climate change.
As part of Connect to Prosper, over the summer, The Lord Mayor’s Appeal and its charity partner MQ Mental Health Research, along with Oxford University and the Wellcome Trust, launched GALENOS – an open-access repository of scientific papers it’s hoped could speed up global mental health research by two to three years.
The Lord Mayor’s Banquet will also feature a keynote speech on international affairs by the Prime Minister and speeches from Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
