BRAID aims to bridge the divides between academic, industry, policy and regulatory work on responsible AI (artificial intelligence), integrating arts, humanities and social science research within a responsible AI ecosystem.
BRAID (previously ‘Enabling a responsible ecosystem’) is a six-year national research programme funded by UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), led by programme directors Professor Ewa Luger and Professor Shannon Vallor at the University of Edinburgh in partnership with the Ada Lovelace Institute and BBC Research and Development.
BRAID seeks to use innovative arts and humanities research to help enrich, expand, and connect a mature and sustainable responsible AI ecosystem. ‘Responsible AI’ is the practice of developing and using AI technologies that address ethical concerns and minimise the risk of negative consequences.
Aims of the programme
- Learn lessons from the first wave of responsible AI work to identify the barrier and divides to a mature and effective responsible AI ecosystem.
- Bring the arts and humanities more fully and centrally into the responsible AI ecosystem, to invest responsible AI with more depth and breadth.
- Foster more honest and diverse public conversations about positive humane vision for AI, not just harm reduction.
- Widen access to responsible AI knowledge and practices in the UK and demonstrate their value in concrete contexts, through policy collaboration, fellowships and demonstrator projects.
BRAID scoping to embed responsible AI in context
Ten scoping projects have been funded, totalling £2.2 million. The projects started 1 February 2024 for six months.
The projects defined what responsible AI is across sectors such as education, policing and the creative industries. They produced early-stage research and recommendations to inform future work in this area.
The projects illustrate how the UK is at the forefront of defining responsible AI and exploring how it can be embedded across key sectors.
Read more about the BRAID scoping projects.
BRAID fellowships
The fellowships aim to enable and support AI research and development to develop solutions for the responsible use of AI.
The fellowships are structured so that researchers work directly with non-academic stakeholders from industry, the third sector, and government, on current responsible AI challenges. The aim is to develop new insights, drive responsible innovation, and deliver impact in the field.
We have awarded 25 fellowships to date, with partners including Microsoft, Diverse AI, Ofsted, and the BBC.
Read more about the BRAID fellowships.
BRAID Responsible AI Demonstrators
The demonstrator funding opportunities launched in April 2024, with projects funded for three years from January 2025.
The demonstrator projects will seek to address real-world challenges facing sectors, businesses, communities and publics in the responsible development and application of AI technologies. Demonstrators will involve an intervention designed to advance responsible AI in a specific context.
The ambition is to demonstrate the transformative power of embedding responsible, human-centred approaches and thinking at the earliest stages of the AI research and development pipeline, and across the AI lifecycle.
Read more about the BRAID demonstrators.
UK-US collaborations
Seven projects were funded in 2025, with researchers in the UK and US collaborating on work that addresses the ethical, legal and societal implications of AI. These projects seek to strengthen partnerships whilst advancing research into responsible AI in areas where international links can add particular value. They will run for up to two years.
Read more about the BRAID UK-US collaboration projects.
Artist responses to AI
In August 2025, seven BRAID-commissioned artworks were exhibited as part of the Edinburgh Art Festival and Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The new pieces explored creativity around and responses to AI in the present and near-future in a range of formats from digital installations to sculpture, as part of an exhibition called Tipping Point. Each artwork gave audiences a new way of thinking about AI and the future we want with it.
Read more about Tipping Point.