Skegness MP speaks to prestigious Oxford society

Mr Warman spoke at the Oxford Union on Thursday on the subject of This House Believes the Rise of Tech Empires Threatens Society.

The Oxford Union is a debating society whose membership is drawn primarily from the University of Oxford.

It aims to promote debate and discussion not just at the university, but across the globe.

Mr Warman was making his second appearance at the society, having spoken there in 2012 as a journalist.

He told The Standard: “The iconic Oxford Union has seen countless lively debates in its history, so it was a pleasure to have been invited back there to speak last week on the threats and opportunities that arise from modern technology, be it artificial intelligence or social networks.

“As I said in my speech, there is a role for government to provide sensible regulation around technology, but at the same time we must grasp the many possibilities it provides and not be timid in the face of the future.”

* The Oxford Union was founded in 1823.

In recent years, the society has hosted such international figures as actors Morgan Freeman, Dame Judi Dench, Sir Ian McKellen, Natalie Portman, and Johnny Depp, TV personality and comedian Stephen Fry, Vogue magazine’s editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, astronaut Buzz Aldrin, pop stars Michael Jackson and Shakira, US senator John McCain, retired United States Army general officer David Petraeus, Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, and ex-prime minister David Cameron.