Electronic Life – devised and led by Ed D’Souza, Sunil Manghani and Tom Savage – responds to the ‘Grand Challenge’ of artificial intelligence. We believe artificial intelligence presents exciting opportunities for creativity and human endeavour, but it also raises serious challenges for the future of society. We don’t have all the answers. But we are committed to finding out more and working collaboratively to advance new positive agendas. Our Research Studio represents a unique initiative to broaden and deepen expertise, skills and capacities as well as to provide a critical context to test and creatively challenge new developments. Key partners include The Alan Turing Institute’s AI & Arts Group; Tate; Kochi Biennale, and University of Southampton. Our Mission: to provide a forum for new, provocative ideas and creative practices, enabling open, cross-cutting debate and inquiry.

Sunil Manghani

Sunil Manghani is Professor of Theory, Practice & Critique at Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton (UK). He is Editor of Journal of Visual Art Practice and Managing Editor of Theory, Culture & Society. His books include Image Studies (2013), Rhythm and Critique(2020), Zero Degree Seeing (2019), India’s Biennale Effect (2016) and Farewell to Visual Studies(2015). He curated Barthes/Burgin at the John Hansard Gallery (2016), along with Building an Art Biennale (2018) and Itinerant Objects (2019) at Tate Exchange, Tate Modern.

Ed D’Souza

Ed D’Souza is Professor of Critical Practice at Winchester School of Art, University of Southampton (UK). He is Editor of Journal of Visual Art Practice. His books include India’s Biennale Effect (2016), Barcelona Masala: Narratives and Interactions in Cultural Space (2013) and Outside India: Dialogues and Documents of Art and Social Change (2012). His work has been exhibited widely including Bergen Kunstall 3,14 (2019), osloBIENNALEN (2019), India Habitat Centre (2019), Tate Exchange, Tate Modern (2018) and Kochi-Muziris Biennale (2014).

Tom Savage

Tom Savage is a PhD candidate in Process Systems Engineering at Imperial College London. He holds an MPhil in Chemical Engineering & Biotechnology from the University of Cambridge (2021), a BEng in Chemical Engineering from the University of Manchester (2020) and has previously been a PhD Enrichment Student at the Alan Turing Institute (2024). He has published in journals including Nature Chemical Engineering and presented at conferences across machine learning, operations research, and chemical engineering fields.

Rigorous Creativity /ˈrɪɡərəs kriːˈeɪtɪvɪti/ (noun): Disciplined application of imagination and innovation, blending strict analytical methods with creative making to produce solutions that are both original and well-founded; balancing of analytical rigor with creative exploration, ensuring inventive ideas and applications grounded in thorough research, critical assessment, and practical feasibility.