Ellen Yang

I first came across Gresham College as an A-level student. At 17, I was a bit intimidated by the idea of attending lectures with world-class academics, so I first watched Gresham’s lectures on YouTube. I was fascinated by them; this was my first encounter with academic ideas and debates beyond the school curriculum. I didn’t realise it back then, but they marked the beginning of my journey towards understanding AI and embracing lifelong learning.

After I graduated from Durham University with my bachelor’s degree and returned to London for work, I felt more confident to attend Gresham lectures in person. The ‘Ethics in AI’ series, by Professor Andy Phippen, Professor Sandra Wachter and Dr Marc Warner, was particularly memorable. While the lecturers often brought pioneering academic research, they communicated it in a way accessible to the public, drawing connections between AI and society, ethics and human creativity.

Attending lectures on AI at Gresham College then inspired me to take up a master’s degree at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford. As my study of AI progressed, the College’s ethos of lifelong learning stayed with me, making me an advocate for knowledge being free and accessible to all.

According to the OECD’s AILit Framework (2025), AI literacy encompasses the technical knowledge, durable skills, and future-ready attitudes required to thrive in an AI-influenced world. The ability to understand, question and engage with AI is closely linked to curiosity, critical thinking, and active participation in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms, machine learning and data. These skills are valuable for everyone, not just academic researchers or computer scientists.

AI literacy can begin at Gresham College. Between the Holborn Circus bus stop and a local sandwich shop, it only takes a little courage to step through the doors of Barnard’s Inn Hall, into a community that values learning for its own sake. This single step changed how I see knowledge and technology which can transform our lives.

Lifelong learning at Gresham College is a practice of passion and curiosity. Whether I am there to explore AI, philosophy, music or history, it reminded me that education never ends. It expands, one lecture at a time.  

If this story resonates with you or you have benefited from Gresham College lectures in other ways, please support our mission to open up education and to encourage a love of learning.

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