BRAID UK

After three whirlwind years, the BRAID programme has reached its midpoint and we’re pleased to share our plans for the future in a new blog post written by BRAID co-directors Ewa Luger and Shannon Vallor. Find out more about where we’ve been, what we’ve learned and where we’re heading next. ⏩The AI ecosystem has changed, so where next for BRAID? (link in bio) @ahrcpress @adalovelaceinstitute @edinburghuniversity

In January we collaborated with @stillsedinburgh , @photoworks_uk and @inspacegallery to host a playful and experimental event based on an imagined scenario in which Artificial Intelligence had passed, and attendees gathered to reflect on what its life had meant. The event marked the final month of Stills’ exhibition Felicity Hammond – V4: Repository – the final iteration of the artist’s Variations series, commissioned through the Ampersand/Photoworks fellowship. Through ritual, art and collective reflection, END-OF-LIFE-SERVICE created space to pause and consider the complexities of our relationship with AI, taking a human-centred approach to examining how it is shaping our work, identities and society. You can now read our reflections on the BRAID website, along with further resources from the evening. We’ve also shared a couple of the eulogies, including the welcome and reflection from our ‘celebrant’, Nicola Osborne. How would you reflect on the life of AI? 🤔 Comment below or get in touch. 📸 @chrisandhiscamera

📢 BRAID launches new responsible AI course to help UK SMEs bridge the AI trust gap As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in everyday business operations, many UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are grappling with an increasingly pressing question: should we be using AI in our business, and if so, how can we do so in a way that is responsible and trustworthy? Our new free online course is designed to help business leaders make informed, grounded decisions about the design and use of AI. Available now via @edinburghuniversityonline - 🔗 in bio. 📸 credit: Alan Warburton / / ©️ BBC / /licenses/by/4.0/ @images_of_ai

Can you seek out what’s true in today’s tsunami of AI slop? Dr Bronwyn Jones, BRAID's Public Media and Democracy Lead, hosted a session on Truth, Trust and Trickery in the AI Age at this year's Edinburgh Science Festival @edscifest The event brought together 70 people of all ages alongside experts from the BBC and researchers from the Responsible Innovation Centre to grapple with the issues of what to believe and who to trust in a flood of AI-generated content. During the interactive workshop participants explored the tools, dilemmas and decision-making shaping today’s media landscape before stepping into the role of journalists in a pop-up newsroom and tackling some real-world challenges. This video explores some of the issues raised on the night. You can read more on Bronwyn’s blog on the BRAID website (link in bio). @uoe_efi @designinformatics @bayescentre @ahrcpress 🎥 @stuartarmitt

📣 Upcoming event! Join us for Truth, Trust and Trickery in the AI Age on Thursday 15 April as part of @edscifest . 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. In this interactive workshop, we’ll help you navigate this new frontier of video, image and language generation. Learn from the BBC Blue Room about the latest tools and techniques and step into our pop-up newsroom to tackle real-world dilemmas as a journalist. Find out more and book now via link in bio 📰 Presented by BRAID, BBC R&D, and @edinburghuniversity as part of Edinburgh Science Festival. 📸 credit: Rose Willis & Kathryn Conrad / / / licenses/by/4.0/ @images_of_ai

END-OF-LIFE-SERVICE, Felicity Hammond At the end of January, @stillsedinburgh and Photoworks, in collaboration with @braid__uk (Bridging Responsible AI Divides), and @inspacegallery , hosted an experimental event in the form of a funeral procession and a wake, where the audience was encouraged to explore the challenges of AI and to create and share their eulogies to it. The event marked both the declared end-of-life of Artificial Intelligence and the end of @flisshammond 's, V4: Repository, the final iteration of the artist’s Variations series, commissioned through the Ampersand/Photoworks Fellowship. Thank you to the speakers and contributors: Felicity Hammond (@flisshammond ) Ot Pascoe (@otisworming ) Jules Rawlinsom Nicola Osborne (@suchprettyeyes ) Alex Taylor (@alxstylr ) Jen McGregor (jenbitespeople) Julie Galante (@julie_galante ) And thank you to everyone that joined us!

Authenticity and AI: Does the origin story of your work still matter? Excited that on Friday 20 February we will be hosting a workshop for composers, sound makers, performers, and music workers in general to find out more about where your thoughts are in relation to authenticity in music in relation to current developments with AI and music. If you're a sound and music creative, composer, music teacher, lecturer or youth music worker around in Edinburgh 2-4pm, Friday 20th Feb, please sign up to join us and contribute to the discussion: https://edin.ac/3ZsQ7Py. Pic 2 is a qr code to the sign up form, in case that can be useful to you. Venue, West Court, Edinburgh College of Art, Main Building, Lauriston Place. Hope to see you there.

Student Workshop 📢 We are looking forward to launch Felicity Hammond: END-OF LIFE-SERVICE public event programme next Thursday and to kick of this day long programme we are inviting @edinburghcollegeofart students in collaboration with @stillsedinburgh to join a collective costume making workshop with @flisshammond 📅 Thurs 29 Jan 2025 ⏰ 13:30-17:00 [Workshop & Procession] 📍 Stills, 23 Cockburn St 🎟️ https://edin.ac/3NgOKke If you are a current Edinburgh College of Art Student, come along to this workshop to collaboratively assess, sort, and reconfigure materials in order to design and produce costumes and props for the procession. Responding conceptually and materially to V4: Repository and using its processes of archiving, categorising, and recontextualising as a framework for collective making. No prior experience with costume-making or performance is required. This event programme, by @photoworks_uk and @stillsedinburgh , in collaboration with @BRAID_UK (Bridging Responsible AI Divides), and @Inspacegallery 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. #research #collaboration #technology #creativity #AI This workshop will be followed by a Procession beginning at Stills and a Wake concluding at Inspace: 📅 Thurs 29 Jan 2025 ⏰ 16:30-17:00 [Procession] 📍 Stills, 23 Cockburn St, Edinburgh EH1 1BP ⏰ 17:00-20:00 [Wake] 📍 Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh EH8 9AB 🎟️ link in bio Bridging Responsible AI Divides is a @ahrcpress funded program led by the University of Edinburgh @edinburghcollegeofart and run with BBC Research & Development and @adalovelaceinst Inspace is run by the Institute for @designinformatics based at the @schoolofinformatics and @edinburghcollegeofart at the @edinburghuniversity . Our programme unlocks digital technologies, tools and data and explores their role in society through a creative lens.

Up Next at Inspace 📢 We are delighted to launch @flisshammond Felicity Hammond: END-OF LIFE-SERVICE public event taking place at the end of this month on Thursday 29th of January. Registration now open! @photoworks_uk and @stillsedinburgh , in collaboration with @BRAID_UK (Bridging Responsible AI Divides), and @Inspacegallery , will host this experimental and playful event, marking the imagined end of Artificial Intelligence through a funeral procession and an early-evening wake. Join us as we reflect on all that we have gained and all that we have lost through the passing of AI, with opportunities to create and share your own eulogies. 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. Join the procession and come along to this event to experience the ceremonial reading of Felicity Hammond’s service report, the laying down of objects and physical tributes brought by the procession to Inspace, to meet and connect with each other and to share your own memories and eulogies of AI, in all its rich complexity. #research #collaboration #photography #AI #creativity Programme Details: 📅 Thurs 29 Jan 2025 ⏰ 16:30-17:00 [Procession] 📍 Stills, 23 Cockburn St, Edinburgh EH1 1BP ⏰ 17:00-20:00 [Wake] 📍 Inspace, 1 Crichton Street, Edinburgh EH8 9AB 🎟️ link in bio / https://edin.ac/4qhI0Rv Bridging Responsible AI Divides is a @ahrcpress funded program led by the @edinburghuniversity @edinburghcollegeofart and run with BBC Research & Development and @adalovelaceinst Inspace is run by the Institute for @designinformatics based at the @schoolofinformatics and @edinburghcollegeofart . Our programme unlocks digital technologies, tools and data and explores their role in society through a creative lens.

We’re excited to announce seven newly funded projects that will establish and strengthen collaborations between US and UK researchers addressing the ethical, legal and societal implications of artificial intelligence (AI). Funded by UKRI and delivered through the Arts and Humanities Research Council (@ahrcpress )’s Bridging Responsible AI Divides (@braid__uk ) programme, this £1.2M investment supports research on topics including: ▶️ AI’s impact on public media and discourse, ▶️ Law and regulation in relation to AI innovation, and ▶️ Resilience and sustainability in the AI ecosystem. By focusing on areas where cross-national collaboration can add distinct value, these projects aim to strengthen partnerships, advance shared understanding, and drive progress in responsible AI research. Find out more and explore the funded projects: link in bio ✨ 📷 credit: Lone Thomasky & Bits&Bäume @images_of_ai

NEW OPPORTUNITY: We are seeking members to join our BRAID Stakeholder Forum, helping to shape the direction of Responsible AI in the UK. The Forum will provide a geographically and demographically diverse group of stakeholders from academia, civil society, policy and industry with an opportunity to: 📌 get involved in discussions about BRAID-funded research 📌 build knowledge and capabilities around key issues related to Responsible AI and the contribution of Arts and Humanities 📌 contribute to shaping the activities of the BRAID Programme and its partners. If you think this sounds like a good fit for you and your organisation, please do send your expression of interest to [email protected] by Sunday 30 November 2025. More details via the link in our bio ✨ @ahrcpress

20 NOV 📚 Report Launch: The Impact of #GenAI on the Novel Novels play an enormous role in the UK's creative industries and the publishing sector. Sales and exports of novels are significant, and they also provide the basis for countless other outputs, including films, television, music, plays, videogames, and more – they contribute enormously to our culture, wellbeing, personal development, and entertainment. But the rise of generative AI has positioned the publishing sector on the brink of irreversible change. ​Join us (on 20 Nov) for the launch of a new report from Dr Clementine Collett @braid__uk on how GenAI is impacting novelists and the publishing industry. Through a survey and focus groups, the report examines how literary creatives are using (or not using) GenAI, how their work and income are being affected, how this is shaping their hopes and fears for the future, and what measures they would like to see implemented by the Government to protect the UK’s precious literary scene. Book your spot to join the convo 🔗 IN BIO