The National College of Art and Design has launched a series of Digital Culture webinars to be broadcast via YouTube here over the next twelve weeks, with a focus on the transformative nature of emerging technologies.

The series has been created in collaboration with the Digital Hub and expects to draw its audience from a range of perspectives, including academics and thinkers, students and alumni, the arts sector and, of course, the general public.

Digital Hub artist in residence Elaine Hoey and NCAD lecturer in digital cultures Dr Rachel O’ Dwyer will “convene” the series, and have included topics such as data as art; the ethics of artificial intelligence; digital economies; and digital algorithms. All sessions are free and don’t require any registration.

NCAD director Sarah Glennie (pictured) said: “We are very pleased to launch the Digital Cultures webinar series alongside our partners at The Digital Hub. Our partnership builds on stakeholder participation at the intersection of artistic practice, technology and society; at a time when technology and Artificial Intelligence are more crucial components of our everyday lives than ever before, we very much look forward to the fascinating discussions that the webinars will undoubtedly inspire.”

In Association with

Hub chief executive Fiach Mac Conghail added: “Artificial intelligence creates both opportunities and challenges for artists, entrepreneurs and communities. It is vital that we should broaden this discussion and understand all its possibilities. 

“We at The Digital Hub see ourselves at that intersection between creativity, technology and community, and with the programming input of our artist in residence Elaine Hoey, we look forward to hearing about new perspectives and expertise in this forthcoming series of talks.”

Details of all events in the series can be found here, and the full list of webinars is:

Translating Nature: Data as Art
Thursday 18 March
Time: 7pm – 8pm
Moderator: Dr Rachel O’Dwyer
Panellists: Dr Patrick Bresnihan; Dr Julie Freeman; Fiona McDonald

AI and Ethics: Moral Machines - Model Behaviour
Thursday 1 April
Time: 7pm – 8pm
Moderator: Elaine Hoey
Panellists: Nora Al Badri; Professor Barry O’Sullivan

AI and Creativity: Speculative Futures
Thursday 15 April
Time: 7pm – 8pm
Moderator: Elaine Hoey
Panellists: Johanna Bruckner; Dr Arthur Miller

Digital Economies | Digital Intimacies
Thursday 29 April
Time: 7pm – 8pm
Moderator: Dr Rachel O’Dwyer
Panellists: Antonia Hernández; Dr Kylie Jarrett

What Does the Algorithm See?
Thursday 13 May
Time: 7pm – 8pm
Moderator: Dr Rachel O’Dwyer
Panellists: Rosa Menkman; Joana Zylinska

AI and Bias:  Feminist & Queer Perspectives
Thursday 27 May
Time: 7pm – 8pm
Moderator: Elaine Hoey
Panellists: Caroline Campbell, Loitering Theatre; Coral Manton, Women 

Reclaiming AI
Thursday 10 June
Time: 7pm – 8pm
Moderator: Elaine Hoey & Dr Rachel O’Dwyer
Panellists: Dr Mercedes Bunz, Creative AI Lab Serpentine Gallery

Pic: Matthew Thompson