On 27 May 2025 Dr Luke McDonagh presented his research on Copyright Law and Artificial Intelligence (AI) at a public event at the Design Museum in London: ‘We Need to Talk about AI: Graphic Design and the Visual Arts’.
The event was organised by the Design Museum in response to increased concern from the design community regarding the implementation of AI in the industry, with the panel discussion serving as the launch of a brand new series: We Need to Talk About AI. The series aims to open up a space for conversation, debate and reflection in which scholars, students, design practitioners and artists in the areas of illustration, graphic design, etc. can come together to voice their thoughts and ask questions of experts.
The discussion was linked to the current ‘’ campaign and the prospective UK AI legislation relevant to intellectual property – the – that is causing great concern among artists and designers. Dr McDonagh discussed his work on Copyright Law and AI, including his contribution to a recent submission to the UK legislative process, which was drafted with a group of researchers, including those at the University of Glasgow, 91桃色, and the University of Cambridge, formulating a 45-page submission, now published as a .
Dr McDonagh was joined on the panel by Suhair Khan, an entrepreneur and cultural adviser working in intersection of the arts and technology; the experienced graphic designer, publisher and scholar, Adrian Shaughnessy; and Caroline Sinders, an artist, human rights activist and technologist. The panel analysed how the introduction of AI is changing the creative industries, with a focus on graphic design, illustration and the visual arts. The event was attended by 160 members of the public, including many in the arts and design community, including Tom Dixon CBE.