Recipient organisationKing's College LondonSource-published name: King's College London
Funding£1.7M
PeriodSept 2026 — Sept 2030
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
The UK’s creative industries are training a new generation of doctoral researchers to use AI and immersive technologies to understand—and actively broaden—who participates in cultural experiences like theatre, virtual reality installations, and live events. This matters because the sector faces two linked problems. The workforce making creative content does not reflect the UK’s diversity, and the audiences for that content skew even narrower. Without intervention, the industry risks missing entire communities and untapped markets. Current methods for studying audiences are too limited to fix this. If ADAPT-AI succeeds, its graduates will bring new skills into the creative economy: using machine learning and extended reality tools to map audience behaviour at scale, designing inclusive participation methods, and developing economic models that reach underserved groups. The consortium—three universities working with major London venues—will build an evidence base on how to attract and retain diverse audiences. Over time, this could shift who makes creative work and who experiences it, strengthening the UK’s global position in the creative economy.
View original technical description
The UK's globally leading creative economy is rapidly evolving, driven by advancements in immersive technologies and artificial intelligence (AI). Despite significant investment in creative R&D and lab infrastructure, two critical gaps hinder future growth: a skills gap in leveraging new technologies for audience engagement, and a diversity gap in both workforce and audience composition. Recent research underscores "a huge potential audience [...] currently attracting the smallest proportions of the population" (PEC, 2024: 5), highlighting the urgent need for innovative approaches to audience research and development. It also reveals that "the make-up of the workforce inform[s] the kind of work that is made, thereby likely affecting the composition of audiences" (Ibid.). This cyclical relationship between workforce and audience diversity presents both a challenge and an opportunity for the sector's growth and sustainability. Positioned in the AHRC 'Creative Economy' priority area ADAPT-AI addresses these interconnected gaps by training the next generation of diverse creative sector leaders as experts in analysing and diversifying audience participation in immersive experiences. This adaptive approach will harness UK creative intellectual property while addressing underrepresentation in both the doctoral community and creative sector workforce, combining AI and creative technologies as key tools for innovation. Our interdisciplinary training programme addresses the pressing needs for innovative methods to understand and engage diverse audiences, advanced digital skills, creative thinking, and entrepreneurial mindsets. ADAPT-AI will transcend traditional audience studies and reception analysis. While studying audience trends at an unprecedented scale, our ambitious vision is to identify, create, and shape audiences for emerging creative technologies. ADAPT-AI will develop a diverse cohort of experts proficient in using creative technologies and AI to analyse and diversify audience participation critically, creatively, ethically and responsibly. The doctoral training and development programme will deliver: Rigorous training in AI, including machine learning, machine vision alongside Extended Reality, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and real-time technologies. Methods for ethical audience analysis: Equipping leaders with skills to map, track, and analyse audience patterns, behaviours, and attitudes in immersive experiences using novel methodologies. Innovative approaches for inclusive audience participation: Developing new methods for deep audience engagement driven by principles of equality and inclusion. Industry-academia collaboration: Engaging in knowledge sharing to develop new economic models of audience access, targeting untapped markets and underserved communities. Increased diversity in creative sector leadership: Boosting the proportion of doctoral students from underrepresented backgrounds and supporting their progression into leadership roles. ADAPT-AI is a diverse consortium of three highly interconnected and interdisciplinary research and innovation cultures - one Russell Group, one post-92 and one small specialist institution. It combines expertise in creative industries, digital humanities, media production, and performance practice. Working with world-class venues drawing millions of audience members annually, and leaders in immersive content creation, ADAPT-AI is uniquely positioned to contribute to an unparalleled evidence base. ADAPT-AI's London focus leverages the city's position as a global hub for creative industries and cultural innovation. Our partners' London-based facilities and audiences offer students access to cutting-edge technologies and diverse user groups, essential for comprehensive audience research and development. By developing expertise, innovating engagement methods, and fostering industry-academia collaboration, ADAPT-AI will empower the next generation of leaders to shape the future of arts, entertainment, and media landscapes. Our graduates will drive innovation, contribute to UK GDP growth and ensure the UK enhances its leading position in the global creative economy.
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