The Social Impact of AI (SOCIAI)

The final output was a one-day exhibition open to the public about the social impact of AI that took place in the School of Communications Media Studio. The students planned and developed the exhibition during the module and delivered it during Week 12 in Semester 2 of the 2024-25 Academic Year (on the 1st of April 2025). Students benefited from Aisling’s expertise through workshops on 3D photogrammetry and Touch Designer, a software package for real-time interactive multimedia content, and she also delivered guest lectures on her work and other related topics. The existing assessment structure was maintained, but Aisling’s feedback was taken into account for the final assessment, a group project entitled Exhibition Space Development and worth 60% of marks for the module. Aisling’s expertise was vital for developing complex and engaging exhibition installations involving the assemblage of different interactive media software, physical props, signage and promotional material. 

The project had a strong impact on the teaching and learning outcomes of the module. Students felt encouraged by learning new skills and getting feedback from a digital media expert and an established artist, and also enjoyed the extra workshops provided by Aisling. From a lecturer perspective, it was great to get new insights from Aisling’s work, software expertise and exhibition experience.

I intend to incorporate the workshop components that she taught into the next iteration of the module, and also the extra resources she provided as part of her lectures. 

Aisling commented on how the project also benefited her, as she was able to gain new insights into her own work from discussions with the students. She was really interested in how students approached her own work, and how in turn it inspired the student’s projects.

The online exhibition survey (with 53 participants) revealed that more than 70% of participants agreed that it made them reflect on their use of AI, which was the main aim. 
 

Key Learning 

Students feel rewarded when their academic work is generating real impact, and a model of co-creation between lecturer, artist and students is hugely beneficial towards engaging and empowering students. My advice to colleagues is to seek opportunities for collaboration beyond academia, but to ensure that everyone benefits from it: the lecturer, the students and the external collaborators. In the SOCIAI project, this was achieved through a process of mutual engagement, openness to try different approaches and inspiration from the artist. And the feedback from the exhibition supports the view that the general public also benefited from the project, despite not being stakeholders. 

Future Work

This project demonstrates the potential for academia to collaborate with artists towards developing meaningful and thought-provoking outputs with real impact. The exhibition enabled participants to reflect on AI’s positive and negative social impact while engaging with interactive digital media exhibits. It also enabled students to benefit from the creative and artistic scope of an established digital media artist, providing them with inspiration and valuable feedback.

The project foregrounds the importance of a humanities-based perspective in discussions about emerging AI technologies and their future impact. 
From my perspective as a lecturer, it is a privilege to be able to connect with the arts world at a practical level in the classroom, and to see how a collaborative approach between academia and art can foster reflection on important social issues while enabling students to unleash their creativity while being inspired by art professionals.

Aisling’s participation in the project enabled me to see how students can benefit from multiple perspectives and from non-academic feedback on their projects, and this is certainly something that I would like to keep supporting in my teaching whenever the resources are available.