Who built AI, and who does it serve? Film + Free Drink + Panel Discussion on race, power and the myth of neutral tech. East London.

The Citizens Film Club (https://dispatch.the-citizens.com/the-citizens-film-club/)presents GHOST IN THE MACHINE (2026): Special screening, panel discussion, Q&A and a FREE DRINK.

GHOST IN THE MACHINE is a gripping and urgently relevant investigative documentary that exposes the buried history of artificial intelligence: one rooted not in neutral algorithms but in racism, misogyny, eugenics, and entrenched systems of power that shaped the technology long before it entered our daily lives.

The Panel:

Valerie Veatch, Director is an acclaimed independent documentary filmmaker, and the director of GHOST IN THE MACHINE (2026). Veatch is a graduate of the New School for Social Research with a degree in Culture and Media Studies. Her award-winning work deals with the intersection of technology and society.

Alix Dunn is the founder and CEO of The Maybe, a critical consultancy, collective and media studio challenging the power and politics of tech, and host of the Computer Says Maybe podcast. She has worked on technology and society for 15 years, co-founded The Engine Room, and advises AI Now, the AI Collaborative, Foxglove and RealML.

Estelle Uba is currently Primary Researcher at BLAM UK’s AI & Digital Policing Accountability Project, investigating racial bias in AI-driven policing systems, while also working as a freelance journalist and communications specialist. Her work has been featured in publications including The Guardian, The Voice, Refinery29, Migrant Women Press, and Black Ballad, and she previously worked as Multimedia Reporter at impact business magazine Pioneers Post.

Event Details

The Film: GHOST IN THE MACHINE (2026). 96 min. 12+.

Where: Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA

When: 18th November 2026. Doors at 6pm.

How to get here

Address

Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA

By Bus

8, 388, 26, 35, 47, 48, 67, 78, 135, 149, 242 and 243.

By Tube

Liverpool Street (0.6. miles), Old Street (0.7 miles), Aldgate East (0.9 miles) and Bethnal Green (0.8 miles).

By Overground

Shoreditch High Street (0.1 miles).

By Bicycle

There is a Santander Cycle hire point at Shoreditch High Street station.

Accessibility

Venue Information:

Phone: 020 7613 7498

Email: boxoffice@richmix.org.uk

Click here (https://richmix.org.uk/visit-us/access/)for the venue accessibility information.

The venue offer:

Step-free access at the main entrance.

Lifts to the screen & bar.

Infrared hearing systems (on request).

Four accessible toilets with RADAR locks.

Wheelchair bays in the screen.

Portable FM radio system with neck loops and headsets.

Click here (https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=B9J1iTjhyQY&ss=218&sr=-1.78,1.06)for a virtual tour of screen 2, where this event is held.

Click here (https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=B9J1iTjhyQY)for a virtual tour of the building.

If you have any access requirements or questions about attending, please contact Finn@the-citizens.com. You’re welcome to let us know what would help you participate comfortably, and we’ll do our best to discuss options with you.

The Citizens Film Club

The Citizens is a journalism and campaigning nonprofit dedicated to building citizen power to hold Big Tech and governments to account.

There are fewer places to gather, watch and talk about the things that matter, and streaming platforms are built for engagement, not to show you what’s culturally important.

We've collaborated with Doc Society (https://docsociety.org/) to screen the documentaries about Big Tech, democracy and power that the algorithms won’t put in front of you: in cinemas, community spaces and online.

Power is hardest to challenge when we can’t see how it works. So let’s see it together, then work out what we do about it.

Description supplied by the event organiser.