BRAID UK

‘Responsible AI Futures’ Hybrid Seminar Series – Universal Music Group
2024-09-19 16:00 - 17:00 UTC
Responsible AI in the Creative Industries – A Perspective from Universal Music Group
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AI in the service of artists and creativity is a wonderful thing. But AI that uses, or worse yet, appropriates their work – or their name, image, likeness, or voice – without authorisation is not.
Throughout all the technological revolutions, Universal Music Group has had a long history of embracing innovation. AI is no different, with UMG working to empower artists with AI’s benefits, while at the same time protecting their rights.
This talk will examine recent developments in the field of AI and how they impact artists and the creative industries at large. While focused on music, key opportunities and threats can be extrapolated across multiple arts-led sectors. The lecture will also seek to define what Responsible AI means for the creative industries and what AI developers, policy makers and other practitioners can do to help shape an ecosystem that balances innovation with rewarding human artistry.

About Universal Music Group:
Universal Music Group’s mission is to shape culture through the power of artistry.
A community of entrepreneurs committed to creativity and innovation, UMG owns and operates a broad array of businesses engaged in recorded music, music publishing, merchandising, and audiovisual content in more than 60 countries.
UMG identifies and develops recording artists and songwriters, and produces, distributes and promotes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music to delight and entertain fans around the world.
Its vast catalog of recordings and songs stretches back over a century and comprises the largest, most diverse and culturally rich collection of music ever assembled.
As digital technology refashions the world, UMG’s unmatched commitment to lead in developing new services, platforms and business models for the delivery of music and related content empowers innovators and allows new commercial and artistic opportunities to flourish.
Knowing that music, a powerful force for good in the world, is unique in its ability to inspire people and bring them together, UMG works with artists and employees to serve our communities.
UMG is the home for music’s greatest artists, innovators and entrepreneurs.

Bio
Casandra Strauss, Director, New Digital Business & Innovation, Global Digital Strategy, Universal Music Group
Casandra joined UMG’s Global Digital Strategy team in Apr 2022, and works in a dual remit. As part of the Digital Innovation team, she engages with tech startups and the wider ecosystem to drive new business opportunities and support entrepreneurs developing music projects. As part of the Strategic Technology team, Casandra focuses on AI, with an emphasis on research, internal policy and community engagement.
Prior to UMG, Casandra served as Director of Innovation & Special Projects at the BPI, UK’s recorded music industry trade body, where she spearheaded the Music & Tech Springboard Programme and developed partnerships in this space, among others. Earlier in her career, Casandra held roles at INgrooves and Sony Music, developing digital partnerships and supporting music partners including Apple and Spotify, among many others.

Running Order
16.00 – Welcome by Ewa Luger
16.10 – Talk by Casandra Strauss
16.40 – Q&A
17.00 – End
In-person: Inspace, 1 Crichton St, Newington, Edinburgh EH8 9AB
Online: Zoom
Please note limited seats are available at Inspace for in-person audiences, so please book tickets in advance. For those joining online please visit the online event page for the Zoom joining link and password.
For inquiries about accessibility, please contact the DI team at designinformatics@ed.ac.uk or visit the Access webpage for more information about the venue: https://inspace.ed.ac.uk/venue-access/

'Responsible AI Futures' Hybrid Seminar - Dr Caterina Moruzzi
2024-10-10 16:00 - 17:00 | Inspace, Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, United Kingdom
What is the value of integrating AI into creative processes?

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The question of whether machines can be creative has been at the centre of debates among scholars and practitioners well before the origin of Artificial Intelligence as a recognised field of research. In one of its most notable definitions, “Creativity is the ability to come up with ideas or artefacts that are new, surprising and valuable.” (Boden, 2004) This talk will reflect on how the third of these properties – value – encouraging us to consider an alternative to the overused question “Can AI be creative?“, namely “What is the value of integrating AI into creative processes?”. Drawing on insights from a recent longitudinal study involving five creative professionals as part of a BRAID Fellowship with Adobe, the talk challenges prevailing assumptions about the advantages of incorporating AI in the creative workflow, highlighting the importance of a thoughtful approach to AI integration by both creatives and technology companies.

Bio
Caterina Moruzzi, Chancellor’s Fellow in Design Informatics, University of Edinburgh
Caterina’s research spans the fields of human and artificial creativity, philosophy of art, and the philosophy of Artificial Intelligence. As BRAID Research Fellow, she leads a collaboration with Adobe to promote the responsible integration of Artificial Intelligence tools into creative practices. As Co-Investigator in the CoSTAR and DeCADE projects, funded by UK Research and Innovation, she investigates the disruptive effects that emerging technological innovations have on the creative sector. At the forefront of the research on modes of shared creativity between humans, data, and technology, Caterina is Lead of the research cluster “Creativity, AI, and the Human” at the Edinburgh Futures Institute, and Senior Fellow of the Future Unilab, at the Una Europa Alliance. She is also part of the organising committee of the international Conference on Computation, Communication, Aesthetics & X, within which in 2023 she initiated the international summer school, the School of X.
Bluesky: @caterinamoruzzi.bsky.social
LinkedIn: Caterina Moruzzi

'Responsible AI Futures' Hybrid Seminar - Dr Christopher Burr
2024-10-31 16:00 - 17:00 | Inspace, Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, United Kingdom
Trustworthy and Ethical Assurance of Digital Twins
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Digital twins are virtual representations of natural, engineered, or social systems that can be dynamically updated with data from the physical twin (e.g. smart building, ocean, human heart) using a variety of sensory and techniques. The increasing use of ML and AI to enhance their predictive capacities, inform decision-making, and drive scientific insights demands critical investigation. The BRAID-funded Trustworthy and Ethical Assurance of Digital Twins (TEA-DT) scoping research project has engaged several researchers and practitioners of digital twins, across the domains of health, natural environment, and infrastructure. In this presentation, Dr Christopher Burr will discuss the results of this scoping research and introduce the TEA platform—an open-source and community-centred tool that helps project teams develop and communicate justifiable assurance that a digital twin realises key ethical properties.

Bio
Dr Christopher Burr is Senior Researcher in Trustworthy Systems at the Alan Turing Institute—the UK’s national institute for data science and AI. He leads the Innovation and Impact Hub as part of the Turing’s Research and Innovation Cluster in Digital Twins. He is also principal investigator of an AHRC/BRAID-funded project, Trustworthy and Ethical Assurance of Digital Twins (TEA-DT). He completed his PhD in Philosophy of Cognitive Science at the University of Bristol.

Running Order
16.00 – Welcome by Ewa Luger
16.10 – Talk by Christopher Burr
16.40 – Q&A
17.00 – End
In-person: Inspace, 1 Crichton St, Newington, Edinburgh EH8 9AB
Online: Zoom
Please note limited seats are available at Inspace for in-person audiences, so please book tickets in advance. For those joining online please visit the online event page for the Zoom joining link and password.
For inquiries about accessibility, please contact the DI team at designinformatics@ed.ac.uk or visit the Access webpage for more information about the venue: https://inspace.ed.ac.uk/venue-access/

‘Responsible AI Futures’ Hybrid Seminar – Dr Peaks Krafft
2024-11-14 16:00 - 17:00 | Inspace, Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, United Kingdom
CREAATIF: Crafting Responsive Assessments of AI and Tech-Impacted Futures
I will be presenting the first results and prospective policy directions of the BRAID Scoping project on which I am a co-investigator, CREAATIF: Crafting Responsive Assessments of AI and Tech-Impacted Futures. This project was designed to engage with creative workers to co-develop impact assessments that address fundamental rights and working conditions in the context of generative AI. Through collaboration with several creative industry trade union and professional bodies we have sought to ensure workers have a voice in the development of these technologies and corresponding labour policy. I will be presenting the results of a series of co-designed workshops and surveys that we undertook, and I will discuss our next steps and future aspirations.

Bio
Dr Peaks Krafft (they/them) is Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Edinburgh, Co-Director of Edinburgh’s MSc Digital Sociology, and Co-Investigator on the BRAID Scoping project CREAATIF: Crafting Responsive Assessments of AI and Tech-Impacted Futures. Prior to joining Edinburgh, Dr Peaks launched the University of the Arts London Creative Computing Institute’s MA Internet Equalities and lectured in Social Data Science at the University of Oxford Internet Institute. Dr Krafft received their PhD in Computer Science from MIT in 2017 and undertook postdoctoral work at the University of Washington Information School, the University of California Berkeley Department of Psychology and the Data & Society Research Institute. Their publications cross AI, cognitive science, science & technology studies, communications, and sociology.

‘Responsible AI Futures’ Hybrid Seminar – Dr Bahareh Heravi
2024-11-21 16:00 - 17:00 | Inspace, Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, United Kingdom
Responsible AI in Newsrooms

As AI becomes embedded in newsrooms, it offers powerful tools that enhance reporting, streamline workflows, and engage audiences in innovative ways. However, this integration raises critical questions about ethics, responsibility, and trust. This talk will explore how AI is used in newsrooms, showcasing real-world use cases and discussing its potential, concerns, and challenges. Given the importance and scale of AI development, its use in the media sector, the potential harms it may cause at a global scale and the reputational damage it can make to media organisations, fostering AI literacy and responsible use of AI has become a pressing challenge. The talk will highlight the role of Responsible AI and the importance of AI literacy in addressing these issues. Enhancing AI literacy empowers journalists to navigate ethical complexities, ensuring AI is used responsibly while maintaining journalistic integrity and public trust.

Bio
Dr Bahareh Heravi is an Associate Professor in AI & Media at the Institute for People-Centred AI at the University of Surrey. She is also a BRAID (Bridging Responsible AI Divide) Fellow at the BBC, working on ‘Enhancing Responsible AI Literacy at BBC and beyond’. Bahareh specialises in Data & Computational Journalism, the use of AI in journalism and media, ethical and responsible AI, and data storytelling. She has widely published on the topics and has extensive international experience working with journalists and numerous news media organisations on the use of data and AI for reporting and storytelling, in research partnerships or as a consultant or advisor.
Dr Heravi is a founding Chair of the European Data & Computational Journalism Conference, a steering committee member of the Computation + Journalism Symposium, and the co-chair of the Research Data Alliance’s Science Communication Interest Group. She sits on the Irish Government’s Open Data Governance Board, and is a member of the EDI Advisory Board of the Royal Statistical Society. Additionally, she is an expert evaluator and a project monitor for the European Commission and the Research Data Alliance, and serves on the ethical advisory board of the EU TITAN (Fighting Disinformation with Critical Thinking & AI) project.
Before joining the University of Surrey, Bahareh was at University College Dublin, where she was the founding director of UCD Data Journalism Programme, and served as a working group member of the Irish National Open Research Forum. She was the lead data scientist of The Irish Times during 2015-2016. Prior to her academic work, Bahareh worked over 10 years in the industry, designing, developing and managing Information Systems in various small, medium and large organisations in different sectors.
Dr Heravi was selected as one of Silicon Republic’s Sci-Tech 100, and was named one of “22 high-flying scientists making the world a better place” in 2019.

'Responsible AI Futures' Hybrid Seminar - Dr Alex Taylor
2025-01-30 16:00 - 17:00 | Inspace, Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, United Kingdom
Red Teaming and the Operationalising of Responsibility
This spring, I’ll be embarking on fieldwork investigating the outsourced labours and operational logics associated with red teaming. Currently in vogue and linked to responsible AI (RAI) programmes across the tech sector, red teaming is being touted as a way to identify weaknesses in language and multi-modal AI models through adversarial or provocative prompts. The reasoning here is that weaknesses identified through this prompting might help in fine-tuning or re-training AI models, mitigating issues such as systematically unsafe or toxic content.
Forming the basis for my BRAID fellowship, this fieldwork will take place across so-called ‘data enrichment’ centres in the Philippines (and possibly other sites in the Global South) and examine red teaming from two standpoints. First, it will interrogate the portrayal of red teaming as a sector-wide solution to the toxic tendencies of data-driven models, such as large language models (LLMs). Second, it will analyse red teaming as a case study of what I term the operationalising of responsibility in the tech sector. Across both dimensions, my focus will be on the global flows of capital and the forms and concentrations of labour being mobilised to “responsiblise” AI. I see implications here not just for a more responsible AI but vital questions about responsibility in late capitalism.
In preparation for this work, I want to use this talk to think with an audience about some of the assumptions behind and controversies surrounding red teaming. I’ll begin by elaborating on ways red teaming is being approached and put into practice in R&D. I’ll then set this technical work in a wider context of RAI in the sector to raise and invite questions about the adequacy of a ‘solution’ that continues to valorise technological innovation whilst failing to reward or indeed recognise the extractive conditions necessary for AI’s proliferation.

Bio
Alex Taylor is a sociologist by training, with longstanding commitments to critically investigating and intervening in the proliferation of technology and machine intelligence. His work has been shaped most heavily by a critical yet hopeful scholarship in feminist technoscience, including works from Ruha Benjamin, Simone Browne, Vinciane Despret, Donna Haraway, and Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing. He’s currently a Reader in Design Informatics at the University of Edinburgh and an AHRC BRAID Fellow, and co-runs the Critical Data Studies Cluster at the Edinburgh Futures Institute. He is also a Fellow of the RSA and holds visiting roles at the University of Sweden and City, University of London.

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'Responsible AI Futures' Hybrid Seminar - Dr Denis Newman-Griffis
2025-02-13 16:00 - 17:00 | Inspace, Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, United Kingdom
Responsible AI takes practice: Cross-sector insights into how we shape responsible use of AI methodologies

Every organisation seems to be staking a claim to responsible AI, issuing new statements of ethical principles for AI to follow, but what does it look like to actually do responsible AI in practice? This gap is one of the biggest challenges meaning that responsible AI too often stays as a talking point, and too rarely becomes an action plan. This talk will present emerging findings from the past two years of research in the Framing Responsible AI Implementation and Management (FRAIM) and Getting responsible about AI and machine learning in research funding and evaluation (GRAIL) responsible AI projects, funded by BRAID and the Research on Research Institute. These projects are building shared knowledge of what is involved in putting responsible AI into everyday practice and how to do it effectively, working in coproduction with nearly 20 partner organisations around the world. I will also highlight the emerging role of AI skills and competencies in bringing responsible AI practice forward in research and education.

Bio
Denis Newman-Griffis (they/them) is a Senior Lecturer in Computer Science and AI for Health Lead in the Centre for Machine Intelligence, University of Sheffield. Their work is an interdisciplinary blend of natural language processing, investigates responsible AI principles, practices, and technologies, with a particular focus on healthcare and disability. They are also a British Academy Innovation Fellow, a Research Fellow of the Research on Research Institute, and Co-Chair of the UK Young Academy, and their research has been recognised with the American Medical Informatics Association’s Doctoral Dissertation Award. Denis is a proudly queer and neurodivergent academic and committed to fostering diversity of identity, perspective, and experience around the AI table.

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‘Responsible AI Futures’ Hybrid Seminar – Prof Andrew McStay
2025-02-27 16:00 - 17:00 | Inspace, Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, United Kingdom
Empathic AI companions: moving fast and breaking people?
This talk examines the ethical challenges and societal implications of empathic AI companions, drawing on UK public attitudes and civil lawsuits against Character.ai. The lawsuit highlights critical design flaws, inadequate safeguards, and ethical dilemmas, especially the blurred boundaries between reality and fiction. Survey findings reveal demographic divides in familiarity and usage, but also shared concerns about privacy, emotional dependency, and the appropriateness of AI companions for children and older adults. While respondents recognise benefits such as reducing loneliness and aiding education, anthropomorphic design elements evoke mixed reactions, raising ethical questions about simulated emotion and inappropriate user deception. The talk advocates for age-appropriate design and stronger regulatory frameworks, emphasising the need for balanced policies to protect vulnerable populations while fostering creativity and responsible innovation. Actionable recommendations aim to guide policymakers, industry leaders, and scholars in addressing the ethical complexities of this emerging digital technology.

Bio
Andrew McStay is Professor of Technology & Society at Bangor University and the author of Automating Empathy: Decoding Technologies that Gauge Intimate Life, published open access in 2024 with Oxford University Press. His work explores the ethical implications of AI systems claimed empathise and understand emotion. Director of the Emotional AI Lab, his current projects include Responsible AI (RAI) funded work to diversify regional input into IEEE-based ethical technical standards for emulated empathy and human-AI partnering (IEEE P7014.1). Other recent work includes a project for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada on child-focused emotional AI systems. He is also a technology advisory panel member for the UK’s Information Commissioners’ Office.

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Ensuring Responsible AI Through Methodological Diversity
2025-03-06 09:30 - 14:00
Hanna Barakat + AIxDESIGN & Archival Images of AI / Better Images of AI / Data Mining 1 / CC-BY 4.0
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This event brings together leading experts from different and distal disciplines to explore the diverse research methodologies and methods that can drive responsible AI forward. The audience will be invited to participate and reflect on how different approaches and diversity of knowledge in AI research and development are key for ensuring a responsible future. From ethical considerations to technical advancements, the event will include keynote presentations followed by a roundtable discussion and Q&A.
Speakers confirmed:
Dr Claire Paterson-Young: Principal Researcher & Research Leader in Social Innovation, University of Northampton, Institute for Social Innovation and Impact.
Prof Muffy Calder: Vice-Principal and Head of College of Science and Engineering, University of Glasgow. Chair RAi UK Skills Pillar.
Specialist Area: Sensor-based Systems; Privacy Intrusion and National Security
Dr Christopher Burr: Senior Researcher in Trustworthy Systems (TPS Programme) and Head of the Innovation and Impact Hub (Turing Research and Innovation Cluster in Digital Twins), The Alan Turing Institute.
Dr Martin Parker: Head of Music, Programme Director, MScR Sound Design. The University of Edinburgh.
Prof Michael Pinchbeck: Senior Research Lead for Art & Performance Research Hub. Manchester School of Theatre, Manchester Metropolitan University.
Organised by:

UKRI funded programmes.
For any enquiries please email: info@rai.ac.uk

Location
The University of Edinburgh, West Court Edinburgh College of Art, 74 Lauriston Place, EH3 9DF

‘Responsible AI Futures’ Hybrid Seminar – Ananda Rutherford
2025-03-13 16:00 - 17:00 | Online only
Do ‘Words Matter’ in Machine Learning?

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This presentation will reflect on the distinctions between what is needed to produce equitable, anti-racist information on artworks and what it is possible or desirable with the application of machine learning. What word choices in the cultural sector can or should ML be taught to make? Can machine learning be applied to address structural inequality and systemic bias within art historical and museological practice? What relationship should we be crafting between machine learning and the histories of art as presented through museum labels and interpretation?
The focus of this research was a dataset of texts from Tate’s Art and Artists online collection, identified as biased in terms of language and interpretation. The research was conducted as part of the AHRC Towards a National Collection Programme, on the Transforming Collections project. Reviewing the Tate texts against Hodan Warsame’s essay ‘Mechanisms and Tropes of Colonial Narratives’, part of the pivotal publication Words Matter: An Unfinished Guide to Word Choices in the Cultural Sector (2018), alongside the development of an application to analyse object label texts revealed the need for deep contextual understanding, both of art historical writing conventions and the artwork itself.

Bio
Ananda Rutherford is a Research Fellow with UAL’s Decolonising Arts Institute. Her research for the AHRC/TaNC funded Transforming Collections project explored the language of museum catalogue texts and the potential application of machine learning to evidence and problematise issues of colonialism and racial bias. She is also interested in ethics in practice at the intersection of academic research, data and technology, and GLAM and heritage organisations. Ananda is a former museum collections and documentation manager, with a career focus on the digitisation and dissemination of collections information online and continues to work and consult in this area.

Running Order
16.00 – Talk by Ananda Rutherford
16.40 – Q&A
17.00 – EndOnline: Zoom
For those joining online please visit the online event page for the Zoom joining link and password.
For inquiries about accessibility, please contact the DI team at designinformatics@ed.ac.uk or visit the Access webpage for more information about the venue: https://inspace.ed.ac.uk/venue-access/

‘Responsible AI Futures’ Hybrid Seminar – Dr Claire Paterson-Young
2025-03-27 16:00 - 17:00 | Inspace, Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, United Kingdom
Ethical review to support Responsible Artificial Intelligence (AI) in policing: A preliminary study of West Midlands Police’s specialist data ethics review committee

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The deployment of AI by the police, while promising more effective use of data for the prevention and detection of crime, brings with it considerable threats of disproportionality and interference with fundamental rights. The West Midlands Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (WMOPCC) and West Midlands Police (WMP) Ethics Committee aims to bridge the gap between ethical reflection, scientific rigour, and a focus on human rights, thus contributing to responsible AI in policing. This seminar explores findings from an interdisciplinary research project that examined the impact and influence of the Committee, including:

Developing an understanding within the police of key ethical, scientific, legal and operational issues for planning and implementation.
Embedding genuine representation from the community that the police serve in ethical oversight committees to ensure opportunities for transparent engagement.
Importance of explaining clearly how AI will be used in policing, so as to enable potential benefits, risks/harms and proportionality to be assessed in the same conversation.
Need for Police forces, Police and Crime Commissioners and national bodies embarking on AI-driven policing to address the ethical, legal and technical questions raised by policing AI, such as reconciling privacy and security priorities relevant to the assessment of the proportionality of using suspect data.

Bio
Claire Paterson-Young (BA MSc PhD) is an Associate Professor & Research Leader at the Institute for Social Innovation and Impact (ISII). Claire’s current major research projects include AI in Law Enforcement (RAI-UK funded 4-year interdisciplinary project titled ‘PROBabLE Futures – Probabilistic AI Systems in Law Enforcement Futures’). Claire has over 15 years practice and management experience in safeguarding, child sexual exploitation, trafficking, sexual violence, youth and restorative justice. Claire is Chair of the University of Northampton Research Ethics Committee and a serving member of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Ethics Committee. She formerly served as a member of the Health and Research Association Research Ethics Committee. She is a trustee of the National Association for Youth Justice (NAYJ), Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) and Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). Claire is a Research Affiliate at Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre. She has held a Visiting Fellowship position at Binus University (Indonesia) and Associate Fellowship position at Children and Young People Centre for Justice (Scotland).
Running Order
16.00 – Talk by Claire Paterson-Young
16.40 – Q&A
17.00 – End
In-person: Inspace, 1 Crichton St, Newington, Edinburgh EH8 9AB
Online: Zoom
Please note limited seats are available at Inspace for in-person audiences, so please book tickets in advance. For those joining online please visit the online event page for the Zoom joining link and password.
For inquiries about accessibility, please contact the DI team at designinformatics@ed.ac.uk or visit the Access webpage for more information about the venue: https://inspace.ed.ac.uk/venue-access/

'Responsible AI Futures' Hybrid Seminar - Dr Dan McQuillan
2025-04-24 16:00 - 17:00 | Online only
Responsible AI means Decomputing
In this talk Dan McQuillan will argue that having a responsible approach to AI means decomputing. To start with, decomputing means less computing; in particular, less of the hyperscale infrastructures which underpin generative AI and whose datacentres are sprouting like mushrooms across the globe.

But decomputing goes beyond concern for environmental impacts to challenge the commitment of the wider AI apparatus to extractivism and scale. AI as we know it exploits sources of data and labour as well as natural resources like energy, water and minerals. Meanwhile its claims to superior intelligence rest on the continually expanding size of its models and datasets. Decomputing draws on both decolonialism and degrowth, arguing for an approach to AI based on the need for social justice and a just transition.
All too often, AI acts as a reductive diversion from complex social and environmental questions, so decomputing seeks alternatives that are relational, collective and truly response-able, because they can respond to the complexities of lived experience.

Bio
Dr Dan McQuillan, Lecturer in Creative and Social Computing at Goldsmiths, University of London
After a Ph.D in Experimental Particle Physics, Dan worked with people learning disabilities & mental health issues, created websites with asylum seekers, ran social tech camps in Kyrgyzstan and Sarajevo and worked for Amnesty International and the NHS. He recently authored ‘Resisting AI – An Anti-fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence’
Watch the recording below:

‘Responsible AI Futures’ Hybrid Seminar – Dr Lydia Farina
2025-05-08 16:00 - 17:00 | Online only
Determining responsibility considerations for AI ecosystems in the context of the creative industries
This talk provides key insights from our scoping BRAID project ‘Creating a dynamic archive of Responsible AI Ecosystems in the context of Creative AI’. The project lays the foundation work for mapping RAI ecosystems in this context by using bottom-up evidence already collected in specific research and artistic projects. We interpret AI ecosystems as interlinked ecosystems consisting of different individual actors and groups interacting in complex ways with one another and with AI applications. Evidence collected from the case studies are modelled into a dynamic archive to enable us to determine the boundaries of these ecosystems and the relevant responsibility considerations. The structure of the dynamic archive is based on present and future stakeholders and on responsibility priorities identified by the case studies participants. The talk includes insights relating to the responsible use of AI applications both as actors within the ecosystem and as external curators of the dynamic archive.

Bio
Lydia Farina is an Assistant Professor in Philosophy at the University of Nottingham, working on the philosophy of mind, metaphysics and the philosophy of artificial intelligence. More specifically she researches the nature of emotion, AI Responsibility, affective computing and social kinds. In the past year she researched the use of dynamic archives to determine responsible use of AI in the creative industries as the Primary Investigator of a BRAID scoping project. She holds a PhD and a MA in Philosophy from the University of Manchester, a MA in Classics from University College London and a BA in Classics from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Before Academia she worked in Finance and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT).

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‘Responsible AI Futures’ Hybrid Seminar – Srravya Chandhiramowuli
2025-05-15 16:00 - 17:00 | Inspace, Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, United Kingdom
Millions of workers, particularly in global south regions, are engaged in creating large-scale annotated datasets used for training and fine-tuning models, as well as making AI work as intended by verifying and correcting its outcomes where required. Yet, there is little recognition, in AI development or governance, of the role of data workers or the challenges they face. In this talk, I bring attention to the contributions as well as concerns arising from data work through ethnographic insights into two data work projects, one in which data work is structured as a repetitive, unitised activity and another which aims to recover data work from such reductive frames using feminist-led, participatory approaches. By tracing the work practices, values and tensions across the two projects, I highlight how data work, including efforts to responsibilize it, is caught within and shaped by the globalised supply chains that prioritise efficiency and expansion. Critically examining data work allows us to confront the scalar logics that underpin dataset (and indeed AI) production and to intervene in them as part of envisioning responsible AI futures.

Bio
Srravya Chandhiramowuli is a PhD candidate in the University of Edinburgh’s Institute for Design Informatics and a PhD affiliate at the Centre for Technomoral Futures. Her research closely follows the on-ground practices of dataset production for AI, bringing particular attention to systemic challenges and frictions in data and AI pipelines. Building on scholarship in Human Computer Interaction (HCI) and Science and Technology Studies (STS), Srravya’s research seeks to contribute towards just and equitable AI futures.

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Tipping Point: Artist Responses to AI
2025-08-07 - 2025-08-31
An exhibition of new art commissions presenting seven outstanding UK-based artists aimed at exploring and enriching the responsible AI ecosystem through artistic expression, and premiered for the 2025 Edinburgh Summer Festivals.
Tipping Point explores how artists can help us more wisely respond to the present realities and near-future horizons of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Featuring seven newly commissioned artworks from across the UK, the exhibition presents new ways of thinking about today’s AI, the futures we want and the communities needed to build it. Artists include Louise Ashcroft, Julie Freeman, Wesley Goatley, Identity 2.0, Rachel Maclean, Kiki Shervington-White, Studio Above & Below.
Commissioned artworks, which range from digital installations to sculptural interventions, zines and comedy sketches, are set to address themes that reimagine AI uptake, inspire activism and resilience, and showcase artistic creativity in the field. These themes align with BRAID’s mission to build public awareness, break down structural barriers in AI, and reimagine responsible AI perspectives and practices, providing a platform for artists to share their visions and for audiences to reflect on the role of AI in our society.
Representing more than an exhibition, the project is a step towards better, more thoughtful conversations about the future of AI in our lives, and we look forward to working with the artists across the year to bring these conversations to life.
Exhibition Details
Dates: Mon-Sun, 7 – 31 Aug, 2025
Time: 10:00 – 17:00 | Free/Drop-In
Location: Inspace, 1 Crichton St, Newington, Edinburgh EH8 9AB
This art commissioning programme is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and delivered by BRAID in partnership with Inspace at the Institute for Design Informatics, with support from Better Images of AI.
Image credit: Hanna Barakat & Archival Images of AI + AIxDESIGN / https://betterimagesofai.org / https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Crafting Resistance: A Zine-Making Workshop on Everyday Activism Workshop
2025-08-08 12:00 - 14:00
Join us for ‘Crafting Resistance,’ a drop-in, hands-on zine-making workshop designed to archive your everyday moments of resistance and inspire you to find new ways to critically engage with and resist the unwanted and pervasive incursion of artificial intelligence into various aspects of our lives. This interactive session will guide you through the process of creating your zine and allow us to reflect on the importance of documenting and sharing modes of resistance.
The workshop draws inspiration from Identity 2.0’s collaboration with a diverse range of activists for their featured project, Issue: 404.
This workshop is free, with activity taking 10-20 mins. Book your place here to secure your spot or just drop-in if you prefer. Participants with tickets are guaranteed entry and drop-in will be on a first come first served basis if capacity is full.
Crafting Resistance: A Zine-Making Workshop on Everyday Activism Tickets, Fri, Aug 8, 2025 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite
Facilitators: Savena Surana and Arda Awais from Identity 2.0
Date: Fri 8 August 2025
Time: 12:00 -14:00 | Free/Drop-in
Activity Duration: Approx. 10-20mins
Audience: Age of 12 + (anyone under 18 should be accompanied by an adult)
Location: Bayes Centre, 47 Potterrow, Edinburgh EH8 9BT
Venue Access Info: Bayes Centre | AccessAble
Date: Fri 8 August 2025
Time: 12:00 -14:00 | Free/Drop-in
Activity Duration: Approx. 10-20mins
Audience: Age of 12 + (anyone under 18 should be accompanied by an adult)
Location: Bayes Centre, 47 Potterrow, Edinburgh EH8 9BT
Venue Access Info: Bayes Centre | AccessAble

This workshop is one of a series of events begin held as part of the Tipping Point: Artist responses to AI exhibition.
Tipping Point: Artist Responses to AI – BRAID UK

Comedic Tools for Grappling with AI
2025-08-08 12:00 - 14:00
Join us for ‘Comedic Tools for Grappling with AI,’ an interactive workshop led by comedy-adjacent artist Louise Ashcroft, which explores the potential for humour and speculative design to shine light on present-day societal issues. Using the current proliferation of AI hype as a backdrop, the workshop will encourage acts of community resilience and empowerment through collaborative brainstorming and hands-on activities. Come along to create and prototype your own whimsical AI gadgets using paint, drawing, and simple model-making techniques.
This workshop is free. Book your place here:
Comedic Tools for Grappling with AI Tickets, Fri, Aug 8, 2025 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite
Facilitator: Louise Ashcroft
Date: Fri 8 August 2025
Time: 12:00 -14:00 | Free/Ticket | Registration is preferred, but drop-ins are also welcome
Audience: Age of 12 + (anyone under 18 should be accompanied by an adult)
Location: Bayes Centre, 47 Potterrow, Edinburgh EH8 9BT
Venue Access Info: Bayes Centre | AccessAble
This workshop is one of a series of events begin held as part of the Tipping Point: Artist responses to AI exhibition.
Tipping Point: Artist Responses to AI – BRAID UK

Artist Panel & Exhibition Opening
2025-08-08 15:00 - 20:30 | The Bayes Centre, The University of Edinburgh 47 Potterrow, Edinburgh, EH8 9BT, United Kingdom
Book your ticket here
ARTIST PANEL
Re-envisioning creative and critical engagement with AI through art
Speakers: Wesley Goatley, Rachel Maclean, Kiki Shervington-White, Studio Above&Below
Date: Fri 8 August 2025
Time: 15:00-16:30 | Free/Ticketed
Location: Bayes Centre, 47 Potterrow, Edinburgh EH8 9BT
Venue Access Info: Bayes Centre | AccessAble
Join us at the Bayes Centre for a dynamic panel discussion featuring artists Wesley Goatley, Rachel Maclean, and Kiki Shervington-White. Collectively, their works delve into the intersections of historical technological advances and contemporary AI developments, employing critical and speculative design, installation, interactive art, community engagement, and filmmaking. These artworks are not only designed to inspire us creatively but also to challenge us politically. How can art best serve as a powerful tool for empowering our creativity while critically exploring and advocating for more responsible, sustainable, and ethical futures in technology?

OPENING RECEPTION
Date: Fri 8 August 2025
Time: 18:00-20:30 | Free/Ticketed
Locations:
Inspace, 1 Crichton St, Newington, Edinburgh EH8 9AB [Fringe Venue 574]
G.07 at Informatics Forum, 10 Crichton St, Newington, Edinburgh EH8 9AB [Fringe Venue 422]
Venue Access Info: Inspace | AccessAble and Location | School of Informatics
Join us at Inspace and Informatics Forum, to meet the artists behind the work and for the opening reception of Tipping Point: Artist Responses to AI, and Authenticity Unmasked: Unveiling AI-Driven Realities Through Art, celebrating and presenting two captivating exhibitions featuring ten new art commissions from the Bridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID) art commission programme and BRAID funded project Cultivating Responsible Engagement with AI Technology to Empower Creatives (CREA-TEC), for the 2025 Edinburgh Art Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
This evening reception features artworks by artists Louise Ashcroft, Julie Freeman, Wesley Goatley, Identity 2.0, Rachel Maclean, Kiki Shervington-White, Studio Above & Below at Inspace and artworks by Georgia Gardner, Kinnari Saraiya, dmstfctn at Informatics Forum.
Join this event to discover how artists are opening up new perspectives on AI, envisioning desired futures, and exploring the communities essential for shaping them.

Please book the tickets for the events you would like to attend. If you have any enquiries about the events and the venue, please contact us at designinformatics@ed.ac.uk .

Image credit: Rare Metals 2 by Hanna Barakat & Archival Images of AI + AIxDESIGN
www.hbarakat.com
aixdesign.co/posts/archival-images-of-ai

Book your ticket here

Openness and AI in culture, arts and humanities: a BRAID roundtable
2025-11-24 10:30 - 16:00 | Ada Lovelace, Nuffield Foundation, 100 Saint John Street, London, EC1M 4EH
Join us for a roundtable discussion to critically engage with the evolving intersections of openness, AI, and cultural knowledge.

In the era of data-driven AI, traditional notions of “openness” are being rapidly redefined. From Big Tech companies branding themselves as “open,” to AI models that selectively disclose only parts of their systems, claims of “openness” often obscure more than they reveal, stretching or misapplying the term beyond its original meaning.
In cultural heritage, academic and creative contexts, “openness” has a long and celebrated history, linked to values and practices of access, transparency, collaboration, reuse and public benefit. From the OpenGLAM movement to Open Access publishing, open source software and open research principles and practices, communities have built infrastructures, policies and workflows to promote openness, supporting data-driven research, creative reuse and public engagement.
Yet, publicly funded and openly licensed datasets are increasingly being scraped into commercial AI systems without consent or attribution, resulting in proprietary outputs that undermine the very spirit of openness that those datasets intended to promote. Legal developments like the EU AI Act add complexity by exempting so-called “open source” models without clearly defining “open.” This vagueness further enables “open-washing,” allowing AI stakeholders -from data owners to developers- to evade true transparency by keeping critical components such as training data, model weights, and even outputs closed.
Yet, openness should not be seen as a problem to be fixed or merely regulated, but as an opportunity. Instead of merely mitigating the challenges of commercial AI systems, or compromising our principles of openness, we must reimagine the technical, sociocultural, and legal foundations of AI toward more transparent, collaborative, and ethically grounded future systems and practices rooted in openness. By investing in open, community-driven AI infrastructures, openly licensed datasets, and open-source models, we have an opportunity to build systems that serve the public good and foster innovation beyond the confines of dominant corporate platforms. These open and collaborative practices can also more meaningfully represent the interests of individuals, researchers, creative communities and cultural stakeholders beyond the classic remits of the creative industries, but equally crucial for our cultural fabric.
Open-source, community-driven AI is not just a technical initiative—it is a democratic one. It empowers researchers, educators, cultural practitioners, activists, and civil society to co-create a future where Responsible and Ethical AI is grounded in its true spirit: collaborative, transparent, and serving the public good.
This event will bring together researchers, creators, legal experts, cultural heritage professionals, activists, and members of the open-source AI community to critically engage with the evolving intersections of openness, AI, and cultural knowledge and to re-imagine how a true open, commons-based AI could be created.
This event is being organised by BRAID fellows Anna-Maria Sichani, Paula Westenberger and Nick Bryan-Kinns.
Find out more and register: Openness and AI in culture, arts and humanities: a BRAID roundtable Tickets, Mon, Nov 24, 2025 at 11:00 AM | Eventbrite

Felicity Hammond: END-OF-LIFE-SERVICE
2026-01-29 16:30 - 19:30 | Inspace, Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB, United Kingdom
Stills, in collaboration with BRAID (Bridging Responsible AI Divides) and Inspace, will be hosting this experimental and playful event in the form of a funeral procession and an early evening wake where you are encouraged to explore the challenges of AI, and to create and share your eulogies to it.
The event marks both the declared end-of-life of Artificial Intelligence and the final month of Stills’ current exhibition Felicity Hammond – V4: Repository – the final iteration of the artist’s Variations series, commissioned through the Ampersand/Photoworks fellowship.

Technomoral Conversation: What’s the Story with AI? Exploring AI Narratives
2026-02-11 18:00 - 19:30 | Edinburgh Futures Institute, 1 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9EF, United Kingdom
Join the latest event in the Technomoral Conversations series: What’s the Story with AI? Exploring AI Narratives and Counter-Narratives. Hear insights on the dominant narratives around AI and what alternative stories can and are being told about AI and its place in our futures.
The Technomoral Conversations series brings together leaders, creators and innovators from academia, technology, business and the third sector in a ‘fireside chat’ format to discuss futures that are worth wanting.
During this fireside chat, we will hear critical insights from experts across academia and industry on the dominant narratives surrounding AI, and what alternative stories can be and are being told about AI and its place in our futures.
Chaired by Dr Alex Taylor (University of Edinburgh), this Technomoral Conversation will feature Dr Abeba Birhane (Trinity College Dublin), Professor Louise Amoore (Durham University), and John Thornhill (Financial Times).
This event is a collaboration between the Centre for Technomoral Futures, the Bridging Responsible AI Divides (BRAID) Programme and the Edinburgh Futures Institute.
Please note this is a hybrid event.
This event will be live-captioned. If you would like to attend with BSL interpreters, please let us know by contacting the event organisers at ctmf@ed.ac.uk
Important notice: This event will be photographed/recorded, and images may be used for future marketing, promotional or archive purposes. If you would prefer not to be photographed, please let organisers know at the event.

Authenticity & AI
2026-02-20 14:00 - 16:00 | Edinburgh College of Art, 74 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, EH3 9DF
Authenticity & AI: Does the origin story of your work still matter? A workshop for musicians and music researchers exploring new questions around origins and originality in the era of ubiquitous machine-made music.
About
The rise of AI in music is forcing us to confront the very nature of authenticity. What makes your music ‘yours’ when a machine can generate sounds that are, on the face of it, indistinguishable from a human creator?
Recent developments in the area of Artificial Intelligence and music have brought a new focus on copyrights, process, technique and sonic identity. Alongside the rich possibilities for creative musical practices are new questions for creators and audiences. What do creators now need to share of their processes to explain the origins of their ideas and sounds? What do they feel is important for audiences to know about the provenance of their work? What do audiences want to know? How much should broadcasters disclose? What do composers/singer songwriters need to know about the origins of the materials they might be using in their work? How much is too much information?
Do you feel AI places your creative identity at risk? Do you feel the authenticity of your work or process challenged? Will you divulge aspects of your practice which, before the advent of AI,you kept hidden? Do you feel equipped to defend yourself against the threats you perceive? Or are these threats at all?
If you are a composer, performer, producer, promoter, record label, youth worker, community musician, music student, researcher, audio software developer, established creator or just starting out in the field, we want to meet you in Edinburgh between 2 and 4pm on 20 February to talk about these issues and other challenges and opportunities in front of your creative practices and cultural contributions.
Following the workshop, there will be a panel discussion with positions offered from leading practitioners in the field of AI and music, running 4:30-5:30pm.
To register interest in attending this event Please sign up here.
Please note that space is limited, and participation will be allocated based on the order of registration and the information provided in the sign-up form, to ensure that the event brings together attendees with a strong connection to the themes under discussion. We are expecting dynamic and discursive contributions from participants. Refreshments will be provided and we can offer £10 in vouchers to help offset travel costs.
The workshop is part of the “Embracing the Complexities of Authenticity” project, supported by the Bridging Responsible AI Divides Programme, with funds received from the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council. The workshop is hosted by the Edinburgh chapter of the UNESCO Week of Sound.
You will be asked to sign a participant consent form at the start of the workshop, please email cmoruzzi@ed.ac.uk if you would like to receive the form via email in advance.

Authenticity & AI in Moving Image
2026-03-24 14:00 - 16:00 | University of the Arts London, 272 High Holborn, London, WC1V 7EY, United Kingdom
The rise of AI in video and film is forcing us to confront the very nature of authenticity. What makes your moving image ‘yours’ when a machine can generate videos that are, on the face of it, indistinguishable from a human creator?
The rise of AI in video and film is forcing us to confront the very nature of authenticity. What makes your moving image ‘yours’ when a machine can generate videos that are, on the face of it, indistinguishable from a human creator?
Recent developments in the area of Artificial Intelligence and media have brought a new focus on copyrights, process, technique and visual identity. Alongside the rich possibilities for new creative practices with video there are new questions for creators and audiences. What do creators now need to share of their processes to explain the origins of their ideas and the videos and films they make? What do they feel is important for audiences to know about the provenance of their work? What do audiences want to know? How much should broadcasters disclose? What do videographers/ editors/ producers need to know about the origins of the materials they might be using in their work? How much is too much information?
Do you feel AI places your creative identity at risk? Do you feel the authenticity of your work or process challenged? Will you divulge aspects of your practice which, before the advent of AI, you kept hidden? Do you feel equipped to defend yourself against the threats you perceive? Or are these threats at all?
If you are a videographer, film maker, editor, director, producer, video artist, media student, media technologist, researcher, established creator or just starting out in the field, we want to meet you in London between 2 and 4pm on 24 March to talk about these issues and other challenges and opportunities in front of your creative practices and cultural contributions.
Following the workshop, there will be a panel discussion with positions offered from leading practitioners in the field of AI and video.
Participation
Registration will close on March 16 at 5pm. Please note that space is limited, and participation will be allocated based on the order of registration and the information provided in the sign-up form, to ensure that the event brings together attendees with a strong connection to the themes under discussion. We are expecting dynamic and discursive contributions from participants. Refreshments will be provided and we can offer £10 in vouchers to help offset travel costs.
You will be asked to sign a participant consent form at the start of the workshop, please email cmoruzzi@ed.ac.uk if you would like to receive the form via email in advance.
Image credit:
Elise Racine / Static / Licenced by CC-BY 4.0

Truth, Trust and Trickery in the AI Age
2026-04-15 18:30 - 19:30 | The Bayes Centre, The University of Edinburgh 47 Potterrow, Edinburgh, EH8 9BT, United Kingdom
Can you seek out what’s true in today’s tsunami of AI slop? Generative AI is prompting an information crisis as fakes and fiction flood social media and chatbot hallucinations pollute our news streams. We’ll help you navigate this new frontier of video, image and language generation. In our interactive workshop you’ll learn from the BBC Blue Room about the latest tools and techniques and tackle dilemmas as a journalist in our pop-up newsroom.
Presented by BRAID, BBC R&D, and The University of Edinburgh as part of Edinburgh Science Festival.
Image credit:
Rose Willis & Kathryn Conrad / A Rising Tide Lifts All Bots / Licenced by CC-BY 4.0
