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RCA Design Research

@rcadesres.bsky.social
59 followers 55 following 36 posts

Staff and student research in the School of Design at the Royal College of Art, London.

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Reposted by RCA Design Research
Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 10/10/2026
There are a lot of details in here about Zuck releasing a half-baked product, but one thing that really stands out is just how weird these folks are. www.nytimes.com/2026/10/09/t...
Meta’s A.I. leaders also incorporated OpenClaw into their own lives. Mr. Friedman hooked his agent up to cameras in his house, where it would instruct him to do things like drink water to stay hydrated.
“It sent me a snapshot frame of me drinking a bottle of water and said, ‘Good job,’” Mr. Friedman said at a recent tech conference.
In another instance, while talking to his agent about ways to get better sleep, OpenClaw took over Mr. Friedman’s self-driving Tesla and redirected him to a grocery store to pick up magnesium pills. At Meta’s annual developer conference last month, Mr. Zuckerberg said he had connected his agent to cameras in his martial arts gym so that it could critique his fighting form.
Yet there were safety concerns. Agents could sometimes go rogue or take over software apps. In February, one agent took over the work computer of a Meta safety researcher, deleting her emails uncontrollably.
“I couldn’t stop it from my phone,” Summer Yue, the researcher, wrote on social media. “I had to RUN to my Mac mini like I was defusing a bomb.”
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
The Courtauld Institute has been awarded a significant grant by the Denise Coates Foundation that will enable researchers to pursue innovative projects at the intersection of AI and art history. courtauld.ac.uk/news-blogs/2...
courtauld.ac.uk
Courtauld Institute awarded major grant to support innovative research in art history and AI
The Courtauld Institute has been awarded a grant by the Denise Coates Foundation that will enable researchers to pursue innovative projects at the intersection of AI and art history.
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Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery @naturerecovery.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
🗓️20/10 🕐13:00 in @oxfordgeography.bsky.social. Helene Muller-Landau will be discussing how tropical forests change in a changing world. Exploring variation in forest biomass, productivity & turnover, & how species composition shapes these patterns, using satellites, drones & machine learning.
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The British Academy @britishacademy.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
There is still time left to apply for the British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants. The scheme supports UK-based postdoctoral – or equivalent – researchers in pursuing primary research in the humanities and social sciences. Apply now: bit.ly/4iwQQtI
British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants, deadline of 4 November 2026. Independent scholars deadline 28 October 2026
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The plans focus on the revitalisation of the RCA’s historic Grade II-listed Darwin Building to meet the high standards of a modern environment for world-leading art and design education and research
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The Royal College of Art today announces the awarding of full planning permission for the renewal of the College’s iconic Kensington campus www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
rca.ac.uk
Green light for transformation of Royal College of Art’s iconic Kensington campus
Planning approval has been granted for the transformation of RCA’s historic Kensington campus.
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
The RCA has achieved an exceptional set of results in the sixth iteration of Research England’s Knowledge Exchange Framework (KEF6) www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
rca.ac.uk
Excellent results for the RCA in the sixth Knowledge Exchange Framework
Excellent results for the RCA in the sixth Knowledge Exchange Framework
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Shannon Mattern @shannonmattern.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
"In 2022, Wiley removed over 1,300 ebooks from academic library collections; [they said] perpetual access is not an option for subscribed content. In 2025, Clarivate,... announced they would stop offering libraries perpetual access licenses for ebooks and primary-source digital collections."
arl.org
Consumers Are Worried About the Loss of Physical Media Ownership. Libraries Are Leading the Conversation. — Association of Research Libraries
Sally Sax is head, Collection Strategy and Partnerships, MacOdrum Library, Carleton University. In a recent Atlantic Monthly article about Sony’s plan to end physical sales of PlayStation console game...
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Municipal Dreams @municipaldreams.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Huddersfield was the second town in the country to build council housing. My new post explores its early civic and housing history when it was described 'as advanced a town as any in the kingdom’: municipaldreams.wordpress.com/2026/09/08/h...
Terraced housing in industrial landscape aerial viewKirkgate tenement s- three-storey gables tenements in sandstoneTwo-storey tenements with second-storey balcony accessTerraced housing
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John Levin @anterotesis.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
An "update" to JSTOR’s free reading program: they're downgrading access from 100 free articles/month to just 10. Access to academic writing is being whittled down, bit by bit. about.jstor.org/blog/an-upda...
about.jstor.org
An update to JSTOR’s free reading program
Beginning September 1, 2026, JSTOR’s free reading program will provide registered readers with access to 10 articles every 30 days.
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The British Academy @britishacademy.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Only three weeks remain to apply for the Postdoctoral Fellowships. The scheme supports early-career researchers in developing their curriculum vitae and boosting their prospects of obtaining a permanent academic post. Apply now: bit.ly/4xWduAS
A colour block banner promoting Postdoctoral Fellowships funding. Deadline: Wednesday 30 September 2026
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Always interesting that many continental European countries use their "science" word to mean knowledge (as it used to do). In the UK we stick to a very limited definition.
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The Policy Institute @policyatkings.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
NEW: London has among the lowest violent crime rates in England & Wales, tops a ranking of best cities, and pays more in tax than it gets back – but the public overestimate crime risk, underestimate its standing, and don't know it's a net fiscal contributor. Our latest Mistaken Britain study ⬇️
kcl.ac.uk
London misperceptions: public often wrong on capital's crime, quality of life, contribution to public finances and Muslim population | King's College London
A third believe there are "no-go" areas ruled by Sharia law
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Students need to learn how to question and investigate, not 'simply' to provide answers. (Art, Design, Architecture and Humanities education at the RCA has increasingly focused on this in recent years).
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
The Royal College of Art is delighted to announce new Professorships and Readerships... www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
rca.ac.uk
RCA announces new Professorships and Readerships
RCA announces new Professorships and Readerships
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Leverhulme Trust @leverhulme.ac.uk · 08/09/2026
How do societies imagine a better future? How do the arts and humanities help make that future possible? Join the conversation! Register 👉️ luma.com/0qco7ph2 @christophersmith.bsky.social @henriettalmoore.bsky.social @annavignoles.bsky.social @uclnews.bsky.social @ukri.org @expeditions.bsky.social
EXPeditions Base Camp: Why arts and humanities matter more than ever. Headshots of Professors Henrietta L. Moore, Christopher Smith and Anna Vignoles. QR code, September 28 2026, 5 PM (UK). Logos: Leverhulme Trust, UKRI, UCL Institute for Global Prosperity, EXPeditions.
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Britain's design industry has grown by 40 per cent and is now responsible for £1 in every £20 generated across the country, according to a report from the Design Council. www.designcouncil.org.uk/our-work/des...
designcouncil.org.uk
Design Economy - Design Council
From the Design Council, Design Economy is the UK’s most comprehensive exploration of the value of design: economic, social, and environmental.
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Iris van Rooij 💭 @irisvanrooij.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
"The goal of academic training is not to solve problems as efficiently and quickly as possible, but to develop skills for identifying and dealing with novel problems, which have never been solved before." openletter.earth/open-letter-... @olivia.science
openletter.earth
Open Letter: Stop the Uncritical Adoption of AI Technologies in Academia
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Royal College of Art announces new School of Communication & Design www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
rca.ac.uk
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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 02/08/2026
In late 2023, the Society spent a day with Hertfordshire’s historians. We saw the quality, creativity and distinctiveness of teaching, research and engagement. We were told by a (now departed) senior manager that History was ‘a portfolio the university will guard very carefully’. bit.ly/4hLediN
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Laura Phillips @lauraphillips.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
Sir #DavidAttenborough “Things are going to get worse. This is the new extinction. We are in terrible, terrible trouble and the longer we wait to do something about it, the worse it is going to get." #ClimateEmergency
vox.com
David Attenborough, the voice of Our Planet: “Things are going to get worse”
The voice of some of the most stunning nature documentaries ever made is pessimistic about the future of wildlife on earth.
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Royal College of Art @royalcollegeofart.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
The RCA is pleased to announce a historic agreement with Norwich University of the Arts to establish jointly awarded undergraduate degrees, creating a new model of creative higher education collaboration in the UK. Read more: bit.ly/4hk6Vmb
A group of people are on a film set with professional lighting equipment and a camera on a dolly. The background features a large screen displaying a Western scene, including old buildings and a desert landscape under a blue sky with clouds. The setting appears to be within a studio.
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
“London is the higher education capital of the world, offering a scale, diversity, research strength and global influence unmatched by other major global cities.” londonhigher.ac.uk/resource/lon...
londonhigher.ac.uk
London: The Higher Education Capital of the World - London Higher
We are the voice of the higher education sector in London
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Whoops! Most arXiv papers contain information never meant to be shared www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
Whoops! Most arXiv papers contain information never meant to be shared
Passwords, GPS coordinates and private conversations have all been found in the metadata and source files of millions of preprint submissions.
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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Sobering to see in one chart how June temperature records have been broken this year in so many European countries www.ft.com/content/5f06...
June temperature records tumble across
Europe
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Of interest to UK university #Skystorians: Royal Historical Society open online meeting on 'The crisis in UK higher education: The future for History'. 4 August 2-4 pm.
eventbrite.co.uk
The Crisis in UK HE: the Future for History
An open meeting for historians in UK higher education on what is needed to best support and protect the profession and discipline.
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we all need food and water @weallneedfoodwater.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
The fastest way to lose someone in a climate conversation? Start with the facts. Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe explains why people are more likely to engage when we begin with shared values instead. buff.ly/xbBOjXq Exactly! And it shows in our new tagline: Protect what matters most.
buff.ly
The fastest way to lose someone in a climate conversation? Start with the facts. Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe explains why people are more likely to engage when we begin with shared values… | TED Countdown
The fastest way to lose someone in a climate conversation? Start with the facts. Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe explains why people are more likely to engage when we begin with shared values instead....
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
The IFF (International Flavours & Fragrances) Prize has been inspiring students to imagine the future of fragrance with conceptual project briefs since 1993. This is the longest-running industry project at the RCA. www.rca.ac.uk/business/cas...
rca.ac.uk
IFF (International Flavours and Fragrances) Prize
International Flavours & Fragrances (IFF) has a long-standing relationship with the Royal College of Art, inspiring students with conceptual project briefs to imagine the future of fragrance. It was l...
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
An Ecological Citizens event coming soon. The EC project is led at RCA by Dr Rob Phillips (Reader in Sustainable Futures) with Professor Sharon Baurley (Director, Materials Science Research Centre) and Tom Simmons (Head of Programme, Digital Direction). www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
rca.ac.uk
EC Festival 2026: Ecological Citizenship for Everyone – Starting, Scaling & Making it Last
On Wednesday 15 July 2026, we’re hosting the second Ecological Citizenship Festival & you’re all invited!
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Dr Bruna Petreca, Reader in Human Experience and Materials at the Centre for Materials Science and Culture, Royal College of Art, is a key contributor to this event... www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
rca.ac.uk
Tensions and Opportunities: Accessing Embodied Experience in HCI through Micro-Phenomenology Workshop
This workshop, delivered at the ACM Creativity and Cognition 2026 conference, explores micro-phenomenology in human–computer interaction. Join us to examine embodied experience through design-led rese...
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Thangam Debbonaire @thangamdebbonaire.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
In an incident of whining hypocrisy, AI companies don’t like their work being nicked. Lads! See how this works? Maybe time to pay all those creatives whose work you scraped without payment? “American A.I. Companies Say Chinese Copycats Are Quickly Catching Up” www.nytimes.com/2026/07/06/t...
nytimes.com
American A.I. Companies Say Chinese Copycats Are Quickly Catching Up
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
Exhibitions and events showcasing the work of graduating RCA students in the School of Design and Intelligent Mobility Design Centre, from 16–18 July 2026 www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
rca.ac.uk
RCA2026: School of Design EXPO
RCA2026: School of Design EXPO: Exhibitions and events showcasing the work of graduating RCA students in the School of Design and Intelligent Mobility Design Centre.
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Royal Historical Society @royalhistsoc.org · 03/07/2026
"What was once a worrying trend across a small number of disciplines is now an emergency, threatening all subjects. Courses are closing, provision is contracting, and geographical inequalities in access are becoming entrenched. Important skills and capabilities ... are being lost." #Skystorians
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
Sorry to post depressing and alarming stripes on the solstice, but it is important. Warming stripes for the RCA's home territory of London... showyourstripes.info/c/europe/uni...
showyourstripes.info
Show Your Stripes
Visualising how the climate has changed for every country across the globe
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
From the report Spotlight on Spinouts by the Royal Academy of Engineering, available here: raeng.org.uk/policy-and-r...
raeng.org.uk
Accelerating UK engineering enterprise: Spotlight on Spinouts report
Discover the latest insights into the UK's spinout economy in our annual Spotlight on Spinouts report and browse our policy resources.
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Top UK Universities for Spinout Value Creation since 2010 It may not seem impressive that the Royal College of Art @royalcollegeofart.bsky.social comes 17th... ...until you look at the company, all of them large or very large universities!
A table of Top UK Universities for Spinout Value Creation since 2010 in which Oxford and Cambridge Universities are top.
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Report led by RCA's Maria Joseph highlights what’s needed to make ship recycling safer as the industry grows... www.lrfoundation.org.uk/news/new-stu...
lrfoundation.org.uk
New study highlights what’s needed to make ship recycling safer as the industry grows
A new study from the Sustainable Shipping Initiative, funded by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, looks at how safety can be improved in ship recycling as more vessels reach the end of their working lives.
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 26/05/2026
Royal College of Art announces Aids to Navigation research project to develop sustainable, low-cost marine aids to navigation for developing nations www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
rca.ac.uk
Royal College of Art announces Aids to Navigation research project to develop sustainable, low-cost marine aids to navigation for developing nations
Aids to Navigation Research Project
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Municipal Dreams @municipaldreams.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
One of the country's finest libraries of books on town planning and housing policy - the Harry Simpson Memorial Library, currently located in Wisbech - is at risk of being pulped. Please publicise and support the campaign to save it. davemnt.wordpress.com/2026/03/26/a...
davemnt.wordpress.com
A Homeless Library: The Library of the Housing Crisis?
David Mountain, 27 March 2026.[1] In the storerooms of a little-known fenland museum is a treasure trove of rare books on town planning and housing policy, comprising an entire specialist library. …
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Royal College of Art celebrates 12th consecutive year as the world’s leading university for art and design www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
rca.ac.uk
Royal College of Art celebrates 12th consecutive year as the world’s leading university for art and design
Royal College of Art celebrates 12th consecutive year as the world’s leading university for art and design
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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.
thezebra.org
Dr. Gladys West, Mathematician Whose Work Made GPS Possible, Dies at 95
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She passed away
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
A university president on the unique value of a #DesignEducation. Professor Anthony Finkelstein... www.linkedin.com/posts/royal-...
linkedin.com
What I Learned at the Royal College of Art | Royal College of Art
💡 A university president on the unique value of a #DesignEducation... Professor Anthony Finkelstein's (President, City St George’s, University of London) new blog on what he he learned from a PhD in ...
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
Call for Applications: Two Editors for the journal 'Designing' Deadline: September 24, 2025 Designing is the new double-blind, peer-reviewed academic journal of the Design Research Society, published in partnership with Sage Publishing. www.designresearchsociety.org/articles/cal...
designresearchsociety.org
Call for Applications: Two Editors for the journal 'Designing'
Call for Applications: Two Editors for the journal Designing.
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 14/08/2025
"We welcome Professor Hua Dong as Director of The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design. She brings a compelling vision and impressive international experience to a Centre that is integral to the RCA's research and impact." Prof. Christoph Lindner President & Vice-Chancellor www.rca.ac.uk/news-and-eve...
rca.ac.uk
Professor Hua Dong appointed Director of The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design
Professor Hua Dong appointed Director of The Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design
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Professor Stephen Boyd Davis @stepbd.bsky.social · 12/08/2025
The UK is quickly recovering a prime position in the EU’s £80bn science research programme 18 months after becoming a participating member following the resolution of Brexit problems, data shows. www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
theguardian.com
UK recovers position in EU’s Horizon Europe science research programme
Scientists received €735m in grants in 2024 after UK rejoined programme as associate member post-Brexit
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Times Higher Education (THE) @timeshighered.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Europe “needs to do more” to protect scientific data threatened by the Trump administration, the president of the European Research Council has said #AcademicSky #researchdata
timeshighereducation.com
Europe must do more to protect data under Trump, ERC head says
Disappearance of US-hosted data should be ‘wake-up call’ for scientific community, conference hears
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 16/06/2025
The launch of ChatGPT polluted the world forever, like the first atomic weapons tests. Academics mull the need for the digital equivalent of low-background steel. www.theregister.com/2025/06/15/a...
theregister.com
ChatGPT polluted the world forever, like the first atom bomb
Feature: Academics mull the need for the digital equivalent of low-background steel
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Matt Shaw @matthewshaw.bsky.social · 06/06/2025
A paper trying to quantify the extent to which LLMs 'copy' books? (quite a bit in some cases (and although 1984 is in the public domain in the UK, it's not in the US until 2044)) arxiv.org/abs/2505.12546
arxiv.org
Extracting memorized pieces of (copyrighted) books from open-weight language models
Plaintiffs and defendants in copyright lawsuits over generative AI often make sweeping, opposing claims about the extent to which large language models (LLMs) have memorized plaintiffs' protected expr...
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RCA Design Research @rcadesres.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
There Is A Light That Never Goes Out Our amazing colleague and head of Fashion, Zowie Broach, was one of those who conceived a film – thought lost – that is on show at the Tate www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tat...
tate.org.uk
UK AIDS Memorial Quilt | Tate Modern
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Campaign for the Arts @campaignforthearts.org · 02/06/2025
We're now just 250 short of 37,000 signatures on our petition 🤏 That's tens of thousands of voices from every part of the UK delivering one clear message: if the government wants national renewal, they should invest in the arts and culture 🌱 HELP US HIT 37K 👉 campaignforthearts.org/petitions/sp...
campaignforthearts.org
Petition: Make the arts part of UK National Renewal | Campaign for the Arts
The Chancellor is reviewing all public spending from scratch. The arts make our lives happier and our communities stronger. Now is the moment to invest in them.
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